New Charitable Thrift Shop Opening in April

A new thrift shop will be opening in Brookfield come April, with a pledge to donate half of all profits to local charities.

Kidz Korner, which will have its grand opening on April 2, will sell children’s clothing, toys and other necessities at discounted prices and donate 50 percent of their annual profits to charities serving Fairfield and Litchfield Counties.

The store, located at 640 Federal Road, is the brainchild of Billie Jo Bernhardt and her husband Chris, who live in Bantam but chose to open shop in Brookfield for its central location and because they could open up right on Federal Road.

This is the Bernhardt’s first attempt at a family business, though both come from entrepreneurial families with businesses in Litchfield.

While there are other thrift shops in the area, “People are more likely to buy from someone where a part of the money is going to charity,” Billie Jo said, and by focusing on kids, the Bernhardts expect to see more turnover in their inventory and a larger customer base looking for used items.

Especially in today’s job market, but at any time, “You can’t stop your kids from growing,” Billie Jo said, “And it’s nice not to spend your whole paycheck on school cloths.”

For their first year of operation, the Bernhardt’s plan to donate 10 percent of profits to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and 40 percent to Family and Children’s Aid of Danbury. In future years that ratio may change, with the addition or subtraction of specific charities in a given year, however the plan to donate 50 percent of profits will continue.

Kidz Korner is also participating in a number of upcoming charitable events, including donating items to the Whisconier Middle School (WMS) bingo night and a grand opening raffle for two new car seats, with the 100 percent of the proceeds going to Danbury's Children's First Initiative.

For the venture to be successful, Kidz Korner will need the “community to embrace the idea,” Billie Jo said, hoping that people will consider donating to their thrift shop over other, more established places like Goodwill or Salvation Army.

“We’re not helping someone out in Hawaii,” she noted, “We’re helping people in the community,” as the main charities being donated to work directly in the Greater Danbury area.

So far there has been some skepticism from non-profits in the Brookfield community, who want to “see how it goes and see how we actually donate,” Billie Jo said, though she expects that, with time, Kidz Korner will become an important part of Brookfield’s charitable efforts.

To that end, the Bernhardts plan to erect a board in the store outlining exactly how much they take in and how the proceeds are dispersed among local charities.

Along with the return profits going back into the local community, Kidz Korner expects to be able to keep their prices well below their competitors.

“The Goodwill and the Salvation Army are overpriced for donations,” Chris said, stating that much of their merchandise is marked at least 50 percent less than at Salvation Army.

As an added incentive, everything in the shop will be marked down an extra 10 percent through the month of April.

On the other side of the business, Chris also suggested that residents would get more from a charitable donation than selling their used goods to a normal thrift or consignment shop.

“You’ll get $10 a bag at most places,” he said, whereas people who donate will likely “save more money if you write it off” in tax deductions.

In order to do so, however, those who donate will need to make sure they get a tax receipt, which Kidz Korner cannot issue (as they are not a registered non-profit), though they can help those who donate get a receipt from their affiliate, Family and Children’s Aid.

The store is already stocked with more than 6,000 items, all of which have been donated, many the leftovers from local tag sales or contributed by charities like the Family and Children's Aid.

Kidz Korner will accept “anything that’s suitable for children, newborns to 12,” Chris explained, adding that any items donated should be clean and intact.

“Something you would give your neighbor,” Billie Jo offered.

Anyone who wants to donate to the thrift shop before it opens on April 2 should contact Billie Jo to set up a time to drop their items off, “Just to make sure we’re here.”

To learn more about Kidz Korner or to set up a time to drop of donation, visit their website.