Everything Under The Sun: A Thrift Store With A Mission

Maria's Cantina, the newly opened eatery, at The Meetinghouse.

There's something really appealing about dreams. It's even more appealing when you realize that if you work hard enough at it, dreams can come true. That something happened to Ken Lori, 43, who noticed a gap in services in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. That gap happened to be one in which there was no comprehensive, centrally located teen center. So, the plan - and dream - became to make one.

One thing you need, in order to build, is money. So, Ken opened a thrift shop, THE MEETINGHOUSE, in June 2014. But something unusual began to happen; the store became a centre of its own. Ken said, "I spend 80 percent of my day listening." And the place is just right for that very purpose. Amidst the used CDs, donated clothes, 2nd chance books, vinyl records (remember those?), and no longer needed dinnerware, is a grouping of used sofas, set in a circle, just perfect for chatting.

This shop sits in the same block as the Windsor Youth Centre, a place that provides assistance to at-risk area youths. All day people come and go, stopping for a visit at the thrift store, all types of people represented, the unemployed, drug abusers, mothers with children, all with their individual needs and stories to tell.

The store operates with the assistance of twelve regular volunteers. Mandy Anderson, one of those volunteers, stated, "I spend probably roughly 50 hours a week there. Just hearing people's stories and where they come from and how to help them out, I enjoy that."

Store owner, Ken Lori, does have a varied background in working with youth, including with an after-school program for a local church; and a teen rec program with the local parks and recreation department in Oregon, before he started his nonprofit in Windsor. Mostly, though, he knows a lot about what it's like to be lonely and know no one in a place where one is the new kid in town.

So, with his own thrift store, he carries on with his dream, inspiring a neighborhood centre, a gathering place in his little corner of Windsor. In its first six months of operation, the thrift store cleared $22,000 for the dreamed youth centre. His thought is that the eventual goal will require a few hundred thousand dollars. So, he's in it for the long haul. "It's a marathon. It's a long term project." Making it an even more daunting task is the fact that he intends to accept no grant funds; he'd like that personal connection, in which contributors believe in the actual project and contribute from the heart.

The many goods available at The Meetinghouse thrift store.

Throughout all, though, Ken keeps in mind the ultimate goal of his fundraising, "...because my home town, Windsor, Ontario is without a comprehensive, centrally-located Teen Recreation Center, unlike many smaller communities. The major service gap in Windsor is broad-based preventative, proactive, non-competitive physical, social and artistic activities for teenagers."