Sandwich church opens thrift store to help meet needs of community

The leaders of Sandwich Church of the Nazarene are always looking for new ways the church can help serve the community.

“We know everybody needs a little help and this is a place where we want to offer quality items, but at a really affordable price.”

—   Sandwich Church of the Nazarene pastor Matthew Jones

Since August 2021, the church has distributed more than 75,000 free diapers as part of The Diaper Closet. On Oct. 5, the church opened The Corner Community Thrift Shoppe that provides gently used items at affordable prices.

“Our church board here was trying to decide what’s next for us as a church,” Sandwich Church of the Nazarene pastor Matthew Jones said to those attending the Oct. 19 grand opening of The Corner. “How can we contribute to the community and be making this a better place?”

The church is located at 205 W. College St. in Sandwich. In March, the church’s board voted to open a thrift store.

The purpose of The Corner is threefold – to create and deepen loving relationships in the community, to meet an economic need in the community and to create financial sustainability for the church.

“Our research shows us that in our surrounding communities, there are 30,000 people living below the poverty line,” Jones said. “60% of those who come into The Diaper Closet say they’re still experiencing financial hardship. So we know everybody needs a little help and this is a place where we want to offer quality items, but at a really affordable price.”

Along with the grand opening, the Sandwich Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for The Corner.

Jones hopes both The Diaper Closet and The Corner will help families facing financial hardships.

“If people can come in, get diapers for free and clothes and some housewares at a much reduced price, that means they’ve got more money for food and other things,” said Jones, who has been lead pastor at the church since May 2016.

Jones himself grew up with four older siblings and a single mom.

“So much of our clothes and stuff came from a thrift shop that was volunteer run,” he said. “The community was behind it.”

A committee of 20 volunteers run The Corner. The volunteers help in a variety of ways, including sorting through the donations.

The volunteers include those who are not members of the church.

“And that’s what we want to see,” Jones said. “Anyone who wants to contribute and make the community better is welcome to come be part of it.”

The Corner accepts a variety of items for donation, including clothes, books, games, toys, decorations and household items. It does not accept such items as mattresses, baby cribs, household cleaners, large appliances, computers, cellphones, TV sets and printers.

Sandwich resident Jen Penn is the lead volunteer on The Corner project. Penn is a member of the church who also teaches yoga classes at the church.

“Matt and I were involved from the beginning, just with saying, ‘Well, Sandwich needs a thrift store and we should do something about it,’ ” Penn said.

Before opening The Corner, Penn and other committee members visited several thrift stores to see how they were run. The response to The Corner has been better than expected.

“All along we believed that this was the right thing to do, but we just didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “And it has been overwhelmingly positive, just with the donations and people coming to The Corner. It has been beyond our dreams, I think.”

More information about The Corner is available at the church’s website, sandwichnazchurch.com.