If you’re struggling with the process of giving this year, consider stopping by the ReStore to try an idea from this guide. The ReStore makes for a reliable source of secondhand gifts that support safe, affordable housing with every purchase. No matter what you buy, your patronage allows us to help more families spend the holidays in the comfort of their own home. How’s that for a gift?
The original “Habitat Home Store” in 1990.
By Danny Mendl
When former Executive Director Lew Kraus opened the (then called) “Habitat for Humanity Home Store” on Biltmore Avenue in 1990, the endeavor could almost be described as experimental. Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity became one of the first Habitat affiliates in the nation to help fund its housing programs by reselling donated goods. Residents of Asheville could donate gently used furniture and items that they no longer needed while shopping for things they did need at below retail prices, with proceeds from the process supporting the construction of affordable housing in their community. The experiment proved to be a hit, and after moving to its current location at 31 Meadow Road in 2001, the Asheville ReStore continued to grow into its status today as one of the top performing ReStores out of nearly 900 nationwide.
As Asheville Habitat’s flagship ReStore grew, so too did the volume of donated merchandise passing through the store. ReStore trucks picked up donations in the community at no charge, bringing new batches of secondhand goods into the store each day, while Habitat’s Deconstruction program filled the retail floor with in-demand building materials extracted from homes and commercial real estate prior to remodeling. When the time came for Asheville Habitat to open a second ReStore location, it was less experimental than inevitable.
In August of 2019, 29 years after the doors of the Asheville ReStore first opened, the Weaverville ReStore welcomed its first customers. Located in the Weaverville Crossings shopping plaza at 61 Weaver Blvd. where a hardware store once stood, the second, slightly smaller store was a natural fit for the Weaverville community and northern Buncombe County as a whole. Today, the Weaverville ReStore is an important source of funding for Asheville Habitat’s building programs; though Weaverville’s population is only 4% of Asheville’s, the Weaverville ReStore does roughly 33% of the total business of its Asheville counterpart.
The opening of the Weaverville ReStore in August of 2019.
The Weaverville ReStore accepts, processes, and resells much of the same merchandise as the Asheville ReStore: furniture, housewares, appliances, building supplies, art, and more. Despite its smaller size, the Weaverville store even matches the Asheville store with a secondhand bookstore of its own, complete with a selection of digital and analog media like DVDs, CDs, tapes, and records.
This summer will mark the fifth anniversary of the Weaverville ReStore, celebrating half a decade of diverting saleable goods from the landfill and affordably recirculating them throughout Buncombe County to support Asheville Habitat’s Homeownership and Home Repair programs. Looking forward to the next half decade to come, we sat down with Weaverville ReStore Manager Kim Klaas to reflect on what makes the Weaverville store unique:
Q: What’s the biggest difference between the Asheville and Weaverville ReStores?
A: *Laughs* “The size! Definitely the size of the space. The whole Weaverville store could fit in the Asheville ReStore’s upper showroom. But that’s okay, we just have to get a little bit creative to fit all of the generous donations from the community into our store.”
Inside the Weaverville ReStore
Q: Are there benefits to running a smaller store?
A: “Maybe the relationships. We get a lot of traffic from Asheville and the surrounding towns, of course, but Weaverville is a small town. The people who donate and shop here know about us, and they know about Asheville Habitat’s work. Maybe they know someone who purchased a Habitat home, have a friend who volunteers, or have a relative whose home had work done by our Home Repair team. They believe in the work that we do. The deals don’t hurt either!”
Q: What do you think are the best deals at the Weaverville ReStore?
A: “Is ‘everything’ an acceptable answer? If I have to choose, I think the bookstore is a hidden gem. Where else are you going to find a selection of books like this, including some new or recent prints, for only $1-$2 each?”
A look inside the Weaverville ReStore’s bookstore.
Q: Why would someone come to the Weaverville ReStore instead of the Asheville ReStore?
A: “Wrong question. You should visit both stores; we’re only 15 minutes apart! We carry mostly the same things as Asheville: building supplies, furniture, housewares, electronics, art, etc. We even have entire cabinet sets, sometimes multiple! But because our stores are donation-based, you’re going to find different items in each. Your search for the right couch isn’t complete until you’ve checked both.”
Q: You don’t think there’s anything that’s more likely to be found at the Weaverville ReStore?
A: “Alright, well, if we can keep a secret… I think there’s an older demographic here in town, and when they commit to spring cleaning, they donate some really cool vintage items that never last long. You’ll have to stop in to see.”
Q: What would you say to someone who hasn’t shopped at the Weaverville ReStore before?
A: “Don’t be shy, come visit us! And don’t be afraid to ask questions. The fun of the ReStore, and Habitat, is in its community. You never know, the person ringing you up at the register might be a friend of a friend, or possibly a future Habitat Homeowner contributing their Sweat Equity hours.”
From thrift to consignment and antique to vintage, the Asheville area is full of places selling second-hand items. See what makes the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity ReStores unique.
Shoppers at the Asheville Habitat ReStores can support more than Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and affordable housing. Through the Register Round Up program, folks have the opportunity to contribute to the work of a wide range of non-profit organizations meeting myriad community needs. In 2023, thanks to the generosity of shoppers who chose to “round up” at the registers, $24,591 was raised and donated to 11 local non-profits and a Habitat for Humanity disaster response effort. 2023 beneficiaries were:
“It was a big year and your contribution through the Round Up made a huge difference,” shared Aiyanna Foltz, Donor Relations Manager at Bounty and Soul. “We are so thankful to the ReStore and Habitat for Humanity for nourishing so many through the Register Round Up program!”
Kim Klass, Manager of the Weaverville Habitat ReStore and Chair of the ReStore’s Societal Impact Committee noted, “The ReStore provides a conduit; we are pleased to facilitate a connection to non-profits in the area doing good work. It’s the generosity of our shoppers that make this program so impactful. All the small incremental donations – 10, 30, 65 cents – add up to big change.”
In the program’s inaugural year, 2019, $11,717 was raised. Since then, thousands of small sub-$1 donations have cumulatively raised more than $105,000 for community partners.
To see the breadth of the Round Up program’s 2023 impact across the community, click here.
Now through September 30, residents can show off their creativity and talent for a chance to win in the 12th annual ReStore ReUse Contest contest. Fabulous furniture make-overs, remarkable renovations, or unique yard art…if you recently took on a DIY project using predominantly reused building materials, we want to know.
When you shop at the Asheville Habitat ReStores, you support more than Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and affordable housing. You also have the opportunity to contribute to the work of a wide range of non-profit organizations meeting myriad community needs. In 2022, thanks to the generosity of shoppers who chose to “round up” at the registers, $24,627 was raised and donated to 10 local non-profits and 2 Habitat for Humanity disaster response efforts. 2022 beneficiaries were:
SistasCaring4Sistas co-founder Nikita Smart shared, “When we have unrestricted funding like the Register Roundup it allows us to go the extra mile with our families. This is important to us, but also the families we serve, especially when they feel they have nowhere else to go or local agencies are out of funding, or the need is something they don’t fund. Myself as well as the rest of the team at Sistas Caring 4 Sistas, thank you deeply for the donation, and dedication to the work we do.”
“The ReStore offers a unique opportunity for Habitat to use its platform to support others doing work that intersects with affordable housing- including healthcare, education, disaster relief and community development,” said Scott Bianchi, Manager of the Asheville Habitat ReStore. “Asheville Habitat provides the mechanism, but it’s the generosity of our shoppers who make this program successful. All those small incremental donations – 10, 30, 65 cents – they add up to big change.”
Implemented in 2019 to support other non-profits serving our community, the Round Up program raised $11,717 that first year. Since its inception, thousands and thousands of small sub-$1 donations have cumulatively raised nearly $80,000.
To see the breadth of the Round Up program’s 2022 impact across the community, click here.
When you shop at the Asheville Habitat ReStores and round up your purchase to the nearest dollar, you don’t just support one non-profit, Asheville Habitat– you contribute to the work of a wide range of NPOs meeting myriad community needs. In 2021, thanks to the generosity of shoppers, $25,411 was raised through the Asheville Habitat Register Round Up program and donated to these thirteen non-profits:
“The ReStore offers a unique opportunity for Habitat to use its platform to support the community in a larger way. Our work is focused on housing, but there are so many agencies doing work that intersects – from transportation and healthcare to disaster relief and community development,” said Scott Bianchi, Manager of the Asheville Habitat ReStore and chair of the ReStore’s Societal Impact Committee. “Asheville Habitat provides the mechanism, but it’s the generosity of our shoppers who make this program successful. All those small incremental donations – 10, 30, 65 cents – they add up to big change.”
Implemented in 2019 to support other non-profits serving our community, the Round Up program raised $11,717 that first year. In 2020, thousands of small, sub-$1 donations from made an even bigger impact with $18,000 raised– even with the Asheville and Weaverville ReStores being closed in April and May due to Covid. Add in the $25,411 from 2021 and the cumulative 3-year total is more than $55,000 raised for area non-profits.
Pam Jaillet, Executive Director of National Alliance on Mental Illness-Western Carolina shared, “Your contribution helps us host local support groups, offer educational presentations, and maintain an office run by volunteers who are in recovery from mental health challenges or who have loved ones with mental health issues. We appreciate your support!”
See below for the Round Up program’s impact across the community in 2021.
We are pleased to announce the winners of its tenth annual ReStore ReUse Contest. Entries were judged on quality of design and execution; replicability of concept; clarity of description; and quality of photos.
It all started at a dinner party in the mid-1980s where Beth Robrecht was seated next to a delightful conversationalist by the name of Millard Fuller, who also happened to be the co-founder of the world-wide organization now known as Habitat for Humanity International. Mr. Fuller was no doubt an excellent ambassador for Habitat’s volunteer program, and as Beth listened to the sincere and credible commendations, she knew there would come a day when the demands of her law practice would ease, and she would have time to offer to volunteer service. She tucked the information away, and kept the idea of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in the back of her mind for the next 15 years, until her moment arrived
Beth at the Asheville ReStore, pre renovation
After getting married and moving to Asheville in the early 2000’s, Beth finally parted ways with her law practice and began to settle in to being a full time wife. As her schedule opened up, she remembers seeing a TV commercial for Asheville Habitat which prompted her to recall Mr. Fuller’s recommendation of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity so many years before. Soon after, she made her way downtown to what was then known as the Habitat Home Store, a small store front full of gently used donated items, located at 9 Biltmore Avenue.
Perhaps the beginning of Beth’s volunteer service with Asheville Habitat was foretelling of what would come. She started off doing a little bit of everything at the WNC Home Store, from sweeping floors, to stocking shelves, to assisting customers. She has since served Asheville Habitat in countless ways outside of the ReStore over the past 18 years. Soon after starting at the Home Store, then Executive Director, Lew Kraus, quickly spotted her administrative and legal savvy and invited her to sit on the Board of Directors. She has since served several terms on the AAHH board, and has actually lost count of the number of committees she has either chaired or sat on, although she lists the Family Selection Committee and, most recently, the ReStore Committee as two she has chaired.
Beth is the perfect example of the type of volunteer who makes up the backbone of this organization. Although originally a ReStore volunteer, her
Beth (second from right) with friends
professional expertise made her a great candidate to serve in other capacities within the organization- and she’s always ready and willing to serve when asked. No matter in what capacity she serves administratively, she hasn’t stopped volunteering weekly at the Asheville ReStore. Before Covid, Beth and five friends volunteered together weekly, taking the already fun and exciting ReStore volunteer adventure to a whole new level! Covid has, of course, changed things a bit, and Beth now participates in the Monday morning volunteer work shifts that happen while the ReStore is closed to the public.
After 18 years, she still delights in the ReStore volunteer experience. “I love the thrill of the hunt! You just never know what you’re going to find, it’s delightful! And, the other thing that I love about the Asheville ReStore is that there’s a synchronicity that happens, I can’t explain it, but it happens over and over again. I’ll see some obscure item donated to the ReStore that I’ve never seen in my whole life, and the next thing I know there is a customer at the register buying it, saying they’ve been looking for this exact thing for months! It’s so fun!!” Recently Beth found a beautiful set of China by the same maker as her mother’s wedding china, and was able to give her niece an extravagant gift at a fraction of the original cost. Beth is a ReStore devotee at heart, and we are so, so grateful she is!
The Asheville Habitat team is so grateful for all the community business partners who generously donate new and used merchandise to the ReStore each year. ReStore Business partners help build a strong foundation for helping families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homes. Thank you so much to each ReStore business partner – we appreciate your partnership!
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