Wayside Cross Ministries’ Hope Chest, a resale shop that raises money to support the organization’s mission of helping the homeless, has opened a new store in Elgin that its managers hope will create a positive experience for shoppers.
“We’re hoping we can offer really good service in a clean environment,” co-manager Anne Marie Anderson said. “We want everyone to have a quality shopping experience.”
Hope Chest is located inside the Elgin Wayside Center, which opened at its new 453 Fremont St. location in January. Wayside has been part of the community for more than 25 years.
Its mission is helping men and women whose lives have gone off the tracks due to drug, alcohol, or some other addiction, General Manager Steve Wise said.
Its location in Aurora has live-in facilities, a day shelter and a warming facility. In Elgin, a day shelter offers meals, showers and laundry facilities, he said. Both provide computer and job training, he said.
The original Hope Chest opened 50 years ago and has been located on the Aurora campus since 1980. A second shop, Sweet Charity Resale Store, is on Montgomery Road in Aurora.
Both stores started out as way for Wayside to provide for the needs of the people it was serving, Wise said.
“We have people living with us who have nothing,” he said. Initially the mission with started accepting donations, and it later grew into the resale shop, he said.
Wayside has wanted to open a resale shop in Elgin for many years but didn’t have space or opportunity until this year, Wise said.
Everything came together this fall, and the shop had a soft opening last week. The 2,000-square-foot store sells gently used men’s and woman’s clothing, shoes and other items. The average cost of jeans and sweaters is $4.99, Anderson said.
“We’re also really trying to present the best of our donations,” Anderson said. And it’s fortuitous that the store opened just in time for the holiday season, she said.
“We have lots of things that would be lovely to get or give as a gift for persons who can’t afford to go and do crazy Christmas shopping, Anderson said. “We’ve got a lot of really nice things.”
Hope Chest is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
