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Our History
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Just a Rummage Sale Opportunity House first opened in 1968. Monroe County United Ministries (then called the Christian Center) had a backroom full of rummage, and one day the director, Rev. Paul Crafton, suggested that the group sell it in order to raise funds. After discussing the project, a few women got together to sort and arrange the merchandise. Rev. Crafton found a building in the area to house the store. MCUM initially rented it for $100 a month. |
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Getting Started In the beginning the store's inventory was sparse and the only furniture was an old desk. MCUM volunteers cleaned out the building and installed piping for hanging rods. Someone donated a cash register to the project, and Opportunity House was in business. At first there was little organization, but as the work progressed the Volunteers took on specific jobs. Opportunity House also once sold handmade items including quilts, pillowcases, and clothing, made by the MCUM Crafts Group. |
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Growth In its first year Opportunity House took in $6000. The second year the annual gross rose to $17,000, and on the fifth year it was $24,000. The increase in income was of course due to higher sales volumes, not higher prices; Opportunity House is dedicated to providing used merchandise of reasonable quality at rock-bottom prices. In the fall of 1969 MCUM was able to purchase the Opportunity House building. Remodeling In June 1971 Opportunity House was able to obtain new fixtures at a great price. Redwood and Ross, a men's clothing store at Kirkwood and Dunn, was going out of business and selling off their furnishings. So volunteers packed all of Opportunity House's stock into boxes and spent 22 days in July remodeling. Volunteers built the "Collector's Corner", a dressing room, and the children's clothing display. |
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| They also installed a kitchen sink that someone donated. Volunteers talked store proprietors out of linoleum and paint to complete the project. | |
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The Community Emergency Clothing Service The Community Emergency Clothing Service was initiated in 1972 for a three-month trial period. The program is designed to provide help in all kinds of clothing emergencies, including fires. It is also meant to help stretch the income of the many Monroe County working poor, those with jobs who still fall below the poverty level. During its first year it served 1,921 individuals, including about 1,000 children. That Christmas there was no need for a clothing drive because of the Emergency Clothing Service, and the program continues to operate today. Gangsters Demand Cans In April 1975 members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity costumed themselves as Roaring '20s gangsters courtesy of Opportunity House. Thus outfitted, the fraternity members staged a plot to kidnap 15 Indiana University sorority presidents and ransom them in exchange for canned goods. Over 1,000 cans were donated to MCUM as a result of the stunt. |
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Soggy Jeans Welcome In August of 1975 the Bowery's on Kirkwood Avenue was the victim of a flash flood. As a result, a thousand pairs of soggy jeans were donated to Opportunity House. Volunteers washed the jeans at home and brought them back to Opportunity House to be sold. |
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Further Highlights In November of 1975 Opportunity House celebrated paying off the mortgage on the building. By 1977 Opportunity House had given about $139,000 to MCUM. In 1979 Opportunity House used proceeds to present a new Ford van to MCUM. In 1980 the mortgage on the MCUM Day Care Nursery building was paid off with proceeds from the store. In July 1983, Opportunity House dedicated a new addition to the building. All these good works were made possible by the people who purchased goods at the store. |
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More Remodeling In May 1999 volunteers from GE's Elfun Society repainted Opportunity House's foundation and lower level. They also restriped and replaced bumpers missing from the parking lot, and spruced up much of the landscaping. The project was made possible through donated paint. Opportunity House was especially grateful to the GE Elfun volunteers because many of the store's volunteers are older and not as fit to take on the projects. |
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Today Opportunity House was once a small storefront operated from a former corner grocery store. Today the shopping area and storage space fill a building about the size of a small factory. Opportunity House is still staffed mostly by volunteers — whose average age is now about 70. Volunteers divide the work of preparing items for sale into departments that include sorting, sewing, repair, mending, ironing, pricing, and packing. In addition to the volunteers, Opportunity House employs two paid maintenance men, who help organize donations and lift the bulkier items. |
| Many come to Opportunity House in search of cast-off treasures. The resale shop welcomes an average of 30 to 40 customers per day. Opportunity House knows that everyone has different tastes and almost anything will appeal to someone. Donations are always needed and all shoppers are welcome. | |
Copyright © 2003 Oppportunity House