Resale Shoppe a reality

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Lois Halfman (cq) of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, (from left) Fay Iorio (cq) of Holy Spirit and Sandy Regan (cq) of St. Elizabet Ann Seton Catholic Church set prices and organize clothing at the Winfield Resale Shoppe in Winfield, Ind. Friday October 21, 2011. Several churches, including St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Cross of Christ Lutheran Church and Four Seasons United Methodist, have come together to operate the resale store. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 22, 2012 8:01AM

Various church denominations in the Winfield area have found common ground. Through a collaborative effort, they are helping the community during these financially difficult times.

Four Seasons United Methodist, Cross of Christ Lutheran, Holy Spirit Catholic and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton churches have joined forces to supply and maintain a high-quality, low-cost resale shop.

Faye Iorio, chairman of the Winfield Resale Shoppe board, made initial visits and phone calls. She gathered a group together to meet regularly to discuss the vision and logistics. Although difficulties continued to arise, the discouragement didn’t stop her.

Representatives from each church joined Iorio and worked through location issues, zoning problems and other difficulties. Winfield Township trustee Rollie Brauer helped secure and refurbish a building for their use. Their determination and hard work finally paid off, and they celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony recently.

Vernon Richards, Winfield Chamber of Commerce member, attended the ceremony.

“This is great. I think people will really like this store. There’s a very nice inventory,” Richards said. “I think it’s something Winfield needed, and it’s a good cause. So, by shopping here, it’s a good way to give back to the community. And you can make donations when you’re cleaning out your closet after a long winter.”

The store features a wide variety of items ranging from men’s and women’s clothing to belts, purses, children’s items, shoes and winter coats. They also carry toys, scrapbooking and sewing items, artwork and more.

Arlene Wallace of Merrillville and her sister, Marie Wilson of Schererville, were among the first customers after the ribbon was cut. They purchased a lime green sweater with a lace collar, a brown winter vest and a white pleated skirt with matching floral spring jacket adorned with pearl buttons.

“We like to shop and go to the resale shops,” Wallace said. “We saw the ad in the paper last week and thought we’d try to find it. I think it’s a very nice shop, and I hope they do a lot of business. We’ll be back.”

Iorio said she was thankful that what started as a vision was finally a reality.

“I wanted to help the community. It has been a long haul. Finally, we’re here today, ready to go,” she said. “We hope to outgrow this little building soon and get a bigger place … where we can do furniture and novelty things for the home. Our goal is to make it fun for people to come and shop and chat.”

If needed, shopping vouchers can be acquired from the four participating churches. Vouchers are also available at Geisen, Rees and Burns funeral homes in Crown Point, Merrillville, Winfield and Hobart. Or they can be obtained at the Winfield township trustee’s office or Jerry Ross and Winfield elementary schools.