Closeout sale scheduled in August

Jakob Moreno KWED/SDN Intern

(Seguin) — Habitat for Humanity’s Guadalupe Valley ReStore is permanently closing.  The closure was announced this week after the operation located at 256 W. Court St sustained damage during the July 5th flooding.

While it wasn’t the decision most wanted to hear, Executive Director Madeline Zwicke says it took a lot of time to come together to figure out the best course of action – action that would support the workers at the store as well as the community of Seguin.

“Our home center has been there for 11 years. Many of the volunteers that worked so hard to open that store back in 2014 are still around,” said Zwicke. “Many of them work part-time, full-time, 40 hours a week. There’s been a ton of friendships and connections forged in that building, and we’ve been so thankful to be able to lease that building for the last 11 years.”

She said on that day that they needed to move, she called four locations seeking temporary space. She says lucky for them, Pastor Marcus Bigott of Emmanuel’s Lutheran Church responded immediately with an office space just one block away. She says this space was crucial for the group to gather and reevaluate their options on how to proceed.

Zwicke understood that even though Habitat for Humanity lost many resources, they still counted their blessings of being able to help the community in any way possible and is still committed to its goal of six houses being built by the end of 2025.

“We will continue to build homes here in Seguin. That part is not going away,” said Zwicke. “I think that is the biggest message that I want people to take from this is that although our storefronts are closing, we very much are here. We’re accepting applications year-round, and we’re going to continue to build homes, affordable homes for families in need in Guadalupe County.”

Zwicke still sees the importance of affordable housing in the ever-growing town and wants to make sure the community knows Habitat for Humanity doesn’t plan to leave with the setbacks that were brought in.

“We are committed to Seguin. We will continue to have an office here and we will continue to serve families in our community,” said Zwicke.

Currently, the group is working on finding a permanent office space for its two employees along with a conference room. Anyone with an idea is asked to contact the group at 830-401-0422.

The group will also be conducting a closing sale for its Habitat Restore on Friday, Aug. 1 and Saturday, Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.