Divine Redesign in Wescosville Marks Second Year

Divine Redesign at 5573 Hamilton Boulevard in Wescosville is approaching its second anniversary. The store, which sells used quality furniture, clothing, books, lamps, glassware, dishes and more, opened Aug. 5, 2010.

All of its staff are volunteers and proceeds benefit Care Net of the Lehigh Valley.

Sharon Grant, executive director of Care Net of the Lehigh Valley, knows firsthand the importance of helping new parents and pregnant women.

“I’ve been a single mother and I know how challenging it can be,” Grant said. “Parenting is a serious job, but it’s doable.”

Care Net is a national effort to provide pregnancy support and services for women, plus parenting and life skills classes for men and women.

It is a nondenominational, Christian, faith-based organization – similar to the Salvation Army or the Allentown Rescue Mission, according to Grant.

Care Net of the Lehigh Valley started with an Allentown office in 1981, and has a maternity home at the Allentown location. Care Net has since expanded in the Lehigh Valley to also provide services by appointment in Bethlehem, Easton and the Wescosville section of Lower Macungie Township.

Care Net makes arrangements for free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling and education. Parenting and adoption are options, according to a Care Net brochure, but it “does not refer or perform abortions”.

The Wescosville site is the only local Care Net branch that also offers a store.

The store is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Managers Polly Barr and Sally Grispo said Divine Redesign hopes to increase its hours in the fall to include Tuesdays, and will be open on Fridays until 8 p.m. during the month of December.

Consequently, Barr said, more volunteers are needed. Currently there are 25 volunteers who work either from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 1 to 5 p.m.

Grispo explained her motivation for being involved: “It’s for the babies, to give girls an opportunity to choose life.”

Divine Redesign accepts donations during the hours it is open. The store also has a volunteer driver with a van and trailer to pick up some of the larger donations and to occasionally make deliveries.

The store managers said they anticipate a name change in the near future. The store originally was named Divine Redesign – the winning entry in a contest to name the business -- because they had planned to work on furniture at the site.

However, Grispo said, they eventually realized that would be too big an undertaking, so the store soon will be renamed “Divine Resale” to more accurately reflect its work.