Ella’s Closet is raising funds for local charities while offering great deals on second-hand ladies clothing.
The thrift store is run by the Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre (DMSCC). What’s unique about this consignment location is 60 per cent of the proceeds go toward the centre, while the remaining 40 per cent is donated to a local group.
“We know that the United Way closed, and the United Way supported a lot of smaller charities in the area,” explained Susan White, executive director for DMSCC. “Now that they’re no longer here, there’s a huge gap and this is a way that we hope we can support those other charities.”
Their storefront officially opened on July 23 at 5123 50 Ave. in downtown Cold Lake. It’s not far from the centre’s other retail establishment, Orbiting Trends.
White noted Ella’s Closet was a way of expanding and offering more to the community.
“We found that we had clientele that were coming in and looking for boutique items. We felt that we could expand it, and I felt like it would be a good way to build a consignment store.”
She added, “We were looking for something that would appeal to the community, we looked at where our sales were and where we could hopefully do better. I think that our goal for the shelter is to not always be going to ask people for donations, the idea is if we can generate our own income and still support the community, it’s a win-win.”
Plans for the boutique started coming together in June 2018 between employees at Orbiting Trends and the DMSCC.
“We threw around the idea, and Dawn Weber, the manager of both Orbiting Trends and Ella’s Closet, envisioned this as a way that we could give back to the community,” White said.
Within their first couple of weeks of operation, customers have given positive feedback about the store to employees.
“They’re pleasantly surprised when they come in,” explained key holder April Simard. “When they see the store, we’ve had a lot of people say, ‘oh, this is secondhand? I had no idea.’ Everyone says the store looks good, and I think the idea of consignment for your community is really interesting for them. Everyone seems to be really appreciative of it, and since we’ve opened we’ve definitely had an influx of people wanting to find out how they can donate.”
So far, Ella’s Closet has around 30 local charities, sports teams, schools, and groups on their list of proceed recipients.
Simard has heard customers say they’re pleasantly surprised to learn the funds are going to support the community. She believes giving shoppers the chance to give back is just one of the reasons why it’s becoming a popular shop.
“It’s something that people haven’t seen before. They have an idea of what a thrift store is, everyone comes in and expects to see a thrift store. We’ve come to know that people love thrift stores here, but this is a step above your typical thrift store.”
The name for the store is a nod to the managing organization.
“Ella’s Closet is named after Dr. Margaret Savage. Her given name was Ella, but she went by Margaret. We still honour her by calling it Ella’s Closet,” White explained.
A grand opening is being planned for the future, with a date to be announced at a later time.
