Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Photo
8.11.2008 Doug Herlinger, manager of the Church Mouse Thrift Shop in Newton Falls, poses for a portrait at the store which faces financial hardships. "People's needs are going up as incomes are going down," says Herlinger who admits its become increasingly hard to keep the store open, on donations and sales alone, while facing rising utilities and requests from people lacking the money to pay for their selections. Geoffrey Hauschild
By Jordan Cohen
The thrift shop has assisted many area residents with food and clothing for years.
NEWTON FALLS — For nearly 23 years, the Church Mouse, a nonprofit thrift store and service unit of the Salvation Army, has been helping residents in need with clothing and food.
This time it’s the store that needs help.
The store manager describes the situation as desperate.
“We operate on a shoestring all the time,” said Doug Herlinger, store manager and its only paid employee. “We never have much of a reserve.”
The Church Mouse, located on West Broad Street in the city’s business district, has been a fixture downtown since its founding by the Newton Falls Ministerial Association following the 1985 tornado that devastated parts of the city. Since that time, the store has become an all-purpose aid center providing donated clothing at greatly reduced prices, financial assistance with utility bills, and a food pantry. Unpaid volunteers assist Herlinger with food distributions and clothing sales.
Newton Falls residents who have come to the Church Mouse for help are eager to praise it.
“That store has helped me and my family out tremendously,” said Kristie Knisely, 30, Newton Drive. Knisely said she didn’t know how her family would have made it without help from the Church Mouse. Her husband has been unable to work while he recovers from an auto accident. The Kniselys have two children.
“She is an example of the people in Newton Falls who need us,” Herlinger said, “but I know we can’t keep providing this service with what little we have left.”
Herlinger said the store pays $500 monthly rent plus utilities. Last winter was especially difficult.
“Our gas bills are horrendous, and even though we keep our temperature at 68 degrees, we still owed over $1,000. I just paid that off in July.”
Herlinger said the Church Mouse has three functions. One is the thrift shop, which is funded through sales of its donated clothing. A second is its food pantry, which depends on financial donations to supply mostly nonperishable food that the store’s customers can take home.
“We feed around 100 people a month,” Herlinger said.
“They pack up a box for you with meals, side dishes and juices,” said Donna Kren, 47, of Warren Road.
Kren, who recently became a grandmother, said she has been helped in other ways. Before finding a position as a customer service representative for Things Remembered in North Jackson, Kren said she needed professional-looking clothes, but couldn’t afford to buy them. Kren turned to the Church Mouse for help and got it.
“I didn’t have the money, but they let me have the clothes anyway after I promised to pay them back after I found work,” Kren said. “Once I started working, I made sure that I paid them back.
“They helped me with my gas bills and they even helped with my online application so I could get some [medication] for free.”
Kren said she shows her thanks by volunteering to work at the Church Mouse. So does Knisely, who was recently hired at the Family Dollar store in Newton Falls.
The store’s third function is a service unit for the Salvation Army. It relies on donations from the annual Red Kettle Campaign and the summertime fund-raising drive “Christmas in July.”
Herlinger, however, wonders who will help the Church Mouse. He said rising fuel prices, utility rates and the costs of food have stretched his budget as far as it can go. He noted that job losses from area plant closings or layoffs have brought out even more people seeking assistance. Their numbers, he said, are larger than at any time in recent memory.
The manager said the store requires approximately $1,500 each month to cover its costs, including rent and utilities.
He has not set any deadline or closing date —at least not yet.
“Newton Falls has always been good about responding to our requests and we certainly need that from everyone right now,” Herlinger said.
“It’s getting tougher every day, and I have a feeling it’s going to get worse.”