16

NEWS

THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

4/12 4/13/14

Churches unite to open high-quality shop

Changing Closets is a little resale shop
inspired by a big dream.
Sign of the Dove Churchs Pastor
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Closets opened its doors in North Chicago
just a mile from Sign of the Dove in
Waukegan and about nine miles north
of partner Christ Churchs Lake Forest
campus.
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radius to see need, said Christ Church
member Susan Graves, who worked closely
with Stackhouse to open Changing Closets.
Graves was a recent Lake Bluff empty
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began strategizing where and how to open
the resale shop.
It was a big change youre kind of
doubting yourself, and it was a big step
coming in here, Graves said. Who would
have thought that I would be working
with a minister and know people in this
community?
Graves and Stackhouse, along with Sign
of the Dove member Jan Arnold (who had
experience in the retail and resale world),
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Graves said. It was a process, but we had
a vision.
Less than a year later, the shop is staffed
by volunteers from members of Christ
Church and Sign of the Dove, along with
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Daniels Christian Academy (SDCA) in

Waukegan.
The school basically runs on the tuition
that the parents pay, said Stackhouse, a
founder and a school board member. Were
able to keep the classroom sizes smaller
and tuition lower because of the income
that comes in from outside of the school.
While the shop attracts many customers from the immediate community, resale
enthusiasts travel from out of state to
peruse the selection at Changing Closets.
Currently, it offers brands such as Coach,
J. Crew, Toms, Prada, Juicy Couture,
Ralph Lauren, and Tory Burch.
Thats really our goal here: to offer good
quality to our neighbors at a reasonable
price that they can afford, Stackhouse
said.
Though the shop is always open to
donations, the staff at Changing Closets
is choosy.
Its got to be good no holes, no buttons missing, no stains, shop volunteer
Margaret Smith said. Were always looking for the best condition, and things we
dont end up using in the store we donate
to another church.
We dont want people to feel like theyre
second-hand quality, Stackhouse said.
Along with local charities, unused donations may also be sent to people in need in
Eastern Europe, Africa, Mexico and Haiti.
The shop offers mens, womens, womens
plus, childrens and houseware selections.
There are plans to expand the shop to offer
furniture in future.
Changing Closets hours can be found at
changingclosetsresale.com

Sign of the Dove Pastor Deborah Stackhouse (front) joins Christ Churchs Jan Arnold of
Gurnee, Lena Hall of Lake Forest and Susan Graves of Lake Bluff at Changing Closets.

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