Chrisman’s Philathea House opens in new location on Route One
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On April 2nd, the Philathea House Non Profit Thrift Store opened the doors at it’s new location, at 120 South Pennsylvania.
Members of the area churches and community, along with Mayor Danny Owen were in attendance at the grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony. Owen congratulated the organization on their new location as he cut the red ribbon. Door prizes were available for those in attendance to sign up for as well as cookies while they looked around.
The organization was at is former location, 111 1/2 North Indiana for about three years. With the overwhelming support of the community, it was quickly realized that a new location would be necessary to move forward and grow.
Volunteers and members of the Chrisman churches kept their eyes and ears open for a bigger location. Ideally, they wanted to stay on the square, but nothing was available. Members of the churches began praying for an opportunity to expand.
It wasn’t until Haven Hospice made the decision to go fully remote that a space would open up. The building was still owned by Tim Mooney, who previously owned Mooney Ford.
After hearing that the building would be available, members of the Baptist Church board looked at the space and knew it was perfect. Board members talked to Tim, who said the building could be sold.
Being a small town church, a building in a prime location in town came with a hefty price tag. At first, the church thought there was no way that it could be done.
After praying and making a few phone calls, individual donors helped the church purchase the building. Enough was raised to be utilized as a down payment of sorts, but more is needed.
With everything falling into place, it was now time to remodel. A total of forty-three volunteers and eight kids showed up and asked to help.
The interior was painted, light fixtures and carpets were cleaned and floors were scrubbed. A custom cash counter was also built.
Macy’s donated all of the clothing racks to make sure everything matched.
After cleaning and preparation was complete, the moving process began. Volunteers began packing up clothing and moving it into the new location.
The day of the move, Tim Mooney informed a volunteer that a storage unit had become available and he wanted to donate it for the Philathea House to use for their out of season clothing and other items.
Last year, the volunteers handed out toys at Christmas to patrons and plan to continue the newly found tradition.
The Chrisman Baptist Church may have started the organization, but it has definitely turned into a community managed organization.
Though they are open for business, more decor is set to be delivered in the near future.
If you would like to volunteer, you can contact Philathea House-Non Profit Thrift Shop on Facebook or stop by during the hours of Wednesday: 12:00 p.m.to 3:00 p.m.; Thursday & Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you know a volunteer, you can contact them as well.
