Neighbor News
The Junior League of Evanston-North Shore to Re-Open Re-Designed Thrift House on Feb. 27
The Junior League of Evanston-North Shore is re-opening to shoppers its newly re-designed Thrift House store at 920 Chicago Ave. in Evanston
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Junior League of Evanston-North Shore is pleased to announce the re-opening to shoppers of its newly re-designed Thrift House store, located at 920 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, on Saturday, Feb. 27. Regular store hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays (open until 6 p.m. on Thursdays).
The redesign of the Thrift House will feature a more welcoming shopping environment, an improved customer experience and a more curated selection of high-quality, gently used merchandise, including women’s clothing, men’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, housewares and home décor.
“We are so thrilled to unveil the new store to the public,” said Anna Pappas of Northbrook, President of the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore “We think shoppers will love our new look that will feel like a high-end boutique, but with unbeatable thrift-store prices. And we hope our newly re-designed store will help us raise even more money to help us continue to support the Evanston and North Shore community.”
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In addition to revamping the store’s layout and decor, the Junior League is also hoping to create a new program in the future where women looking for a career in retail will be invited to work in the store as a way of gaining valuable experience that they can use to help them find meaningful work.
“For the last seven years, we have been donating work-appropriate clothing and offering job readiness sessions to low-income women through our Fitting Futures program, and we thought what better way to help these women really get ready for the workforce than by giving them real work experience?” Pappas said.
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Founded in 1924, the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore has been dedicated to supporting families in Evanston for more than 92 years. Throughout its history, the non-profit has been involved in many programs in the community, such as the first Infant Welfare Clinic (1930-1941), running a dental dispensary (1931-1952), operating the Child Care Center of Evanston (1970-1975), and more.
The Junior League founded the Thrift House in 1940 as a way of raising money for its programs, and the store continues to be the non-profit’s major source of revenue, raising about $25,000 per year, which the organization uses to fund to college scholarships for local high school students, community grants, and programs that support local battered women’s shelters, low-income women and more.
Since 2009, the Junior League’s Fitting Futures program has provided more than 370 women with more than 2,000 items of clothing and accessories for job interviews.
Throughout its 75-year history, the Thrift House has also provided needed clothes to other non-profits, such as Connections for the Homeless and the Vineyard Christian Church of Evanston’s Clothes Closet, as well as provided vouchers for clothes and accessories to clients of Mary Lou’s Place, a domestic violence shelter; Have Dreams, a non-profit for children and adults with Autism; and to low-income pregnant women through the Junior League’s own Baby Steps program.
The Thrift House accepts new or gently used clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, small furniture, home décor, housewares and books. Donations are accepted at the store during regular business hours or at the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore’s office at 620 Lincoln Ave., suite 209, in Winnetka, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
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THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF EVANSTON-NORTH SHORE, INC. is a not-for-profit women’s organization committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. In its 90-year history, JLE-NS has contributed more than $3.2 million to Chicago’s North Shore community. With an emphasis on advancing employment and supporting families, the JLE-NS fosters job readiness and promotes positive family development through ongoing projects, such as the Evanston resale shop Thrift House and The Designer Kitchens of the North Shore Kitchen Tour. JLE-NS membership is open to any woman with an interest in and commitment to voluntarism. For more information visit www.jle-ns.org or call 847-441-0995.
