(Seguin) — Guadalupe Valley Habitat for Humanity has five special reasons to celebrate these next few days. The local group is inviting the public to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Habitat Store, located at 256 West Court Street in downtown Seguin.
Between now and April 15th, customers purchasing an item at the Habitat Store will receive a free raffle ticket that will be entered into a drawing for one of five gift baskets. Habitat volunteers say the drawing will be held on Monday, April 15th. All winners will be announced on that day on the store’s Facebook page.
First opening on April 15, 2014, the Habitat Store has been the major source of revenue for the construction of Habitat houses in Guadalupe County. Volunteers say the store sells a wide array of new and gently used household items, furniture, appliances, building materials, tools, electronics and other merchandise at discounted prices.
“Thanks to the generosity of area residents and businesses who have donated items for resale and shopped at the Habitat Store, we have been able to increase our home construction from one house per year to two, and we hope to increase that again to three per year starting in 2020,” said Pam Sagebiel, GVHFH president. “Continued patronage of the Habitat Store will make possible our dream of serving even more local families in need of decent, safe, affordable housing.”
In addition to donating items and shopping at the Habitat Store, Sagebiel says people can support local Habitat projects by volunteering at the store.
“Until recently the store was staffed solely by volunteers. A full-time store manager position was created earlier this year, but that has not lessened the need for volunteers,” said Sagebiel. “Since Tamara (“T”) Rodriguez was hired to manage the facility, the store has expanded its hours of operation to include Thursdays, and customers would like for us to be open even more hours per week. We would like to do that, but that will require more volunteers to staff the store.”
Rodriguez says all skill levels and talents are welcome.
“We need help in all aspects of the store operation, from customer service to stocking shelves to cashier to repairing broken items,” said Rodriguez. “We’ll train you and can use you for as many hours a week as you want to work. It’s fun, too! The volunteers have a great time together and often refer to Habitat as their ‘second family’.”
Those wishing to learn more about Habitat Store volunteer opportunities or to arrange a pick-up of donated items are encouraged to contact Rodriguez at 830-386-3047.
The Habitat Store is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.