Since it first opened six years ago in the basement of the United Methodist Presbyterian Church in Wellsville, Christ’s Closet has played a huge impact in Montgomery County and other communities.

The thrift shop has a variety of items it sells from donations from local communities, donates items to local schools when children need shoes and clothes and helps families when they’re going through hard times.

“We’re blessed with people who donate things they no longer need or use,” said Bette Lowry, one of the workers. “We’re able to display them and have a great group of customers that we can supply their needs as well.”

Lowry works with a staff of volunteers that also includes Debbie Gamel and Jeane Oligschlaeger. Gamel said she fell in love with working at Christ’s Closet when she first joined the staff in 2019.

“I was new in town,” Gamel said. “I came in and I visited the church a few times. The next thing I knew, I saw that they were needing help down here. I started working down here and I ended up being part of the church ever since. I was looking for something to do to serve the community.”

Christ’s Closet offers a variety of discounted items such as home décor, toys, furniture and clothes. It sells a bagful of clothes for just $3.

The shop is open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. every Friday. Gamel said all donations are accepted except furniture.

“It’s rewarding to work here because you see all of the stuff that people have donated,” Gamel said. “We can see it go back to other people who need it. Nothing ever goes to waste. It’s all recycled. It all goes back into the community to other people who need it.”

Oligschlaeger said recently, the staff helped a customer who wanted to buy clothes for her grandchild.

“He needed a coat,” Oligschlaeger said. “Who needs a coat in this kind of weather? Everybody’s got coats, right? Well, he didn’t. He needed a coat, so she got a coat. They’re cheap here. She was able to take that to him.”

Gamel said the shop has attracted plenty of customers from outside Montgomery County.

“We get donations from a lot of areas because they like the way that we display it and we handle it and keep it good,” Hamel said. “One time, there were customers who came from Warrenton because they like the way we do things. We give them back to the community and they get used. It’s a nice ordeal. I’m proud of the people who got it started, that’s for sure. That’s a good thing.”

Oligschlaeger said the idea of starting Christ’s Closet came from numerous people, including Paula Adams, Michelle Lehnen and Mary Lou Eckler.

“Way back in the past, the Methodist Church in Wellsville always had a large rummage-like sale and our Lord’s Acre sale in the fall,” Oligschlaeger said. “It was always a big thing. Mary Lou  Eckler was really big in that. That was her forte. She has passed on now. But she really loved this sort of thing. She would run something at our Lord’s Acre sale called Trinkets and Treasures, which was a big event in the fall. She would sell all of this stuff. Eventually, it morphed into keeping it open more.”