Catholic Charities opens newly remodeled Thrift Shop

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Marian Bishop scored herself a good find Friday morning at the opening of the newly remodeled Catholic Charities Thrift Shop in Downtown Fresno.

"I got some purses and a couple of backpacks and shoes and clothes and I'm just having fun," said Bishop. "It's really nice.

The store closed about a month ago and now it's open once more and it's better than ever. New wood laminate flooring, racks, shelving, and signage.

"You will be amazed by all of the hidden treasures we have here," said Ashlee Wolf, Development Director for Catholic Charities. "Not only do we have clothing, but we also have furniture, we have household goods, we have a little Christmas boutique set up right now."

Wolf said on average Catholic Charities serves 120 families each day. Many of those who walk through their doors are in crisis. In September they gave out 7,000 clothing items. That's why it's important their shop feels like any other retail store in town.

"They have gone through a fire, they may have taken in a sick parent they are really going through extreme life circumstances and they desperately need this clothing," said W

The remodel was made possible thanks to donations from the community. It's a transformation customer and even volunteers immediately noticed.

"it's not so crowded and the merchandising, the way they fashioned this so that you could see this stand out, it's just truly, truly lovely," said volunteer Sandy Gallagher. "

"it's like we were in a different place," said longtime volunteer Dick Gallagher. "There is no comparison to what it was 20 years ago."

Catholic Charities is accepting gently used clothing so they can continue stocking their shop. The store is also open to the public.