Habitat Restore looking for help
IRON MOUNTAIN -- The Habitat for Humanity Restore in Iron Mountain has a little bit of everything from lighting fixtures to furniture, all at a reasonable price. That's one reason it appeals to so many people. In order to keep merchandise reasonable, the Restore prices about fifty percent less than retail, but the low prices are just one reason to shop there.
Many of the items that they sell would have been thrown out otherwise, which means Habitat is doing their part to help the environment.
"I like shopping and browsing here because it gives me a chance to recycle stuff that would normally end up in a landfill," said Bob Polich, one of the Restore's regular customers.
The Restore has been open since June of 2007 and it's done a booming business. However, a shortage of volunteers keeps them from operating as efficiently as they'd like to.
"It's really difficult to get consistent volunteer help here," said Mike Steele, Restore manager.
Currently, they have only two or three volunteers a week helping out--and that's not enough.
"On average, we need four to five a week to make our operation run smoothly," Steele said.
They're looking for anyone willing to donate their time doing light-duty tasks such as pricing merchandise. Using volunteers helps them to keep costs down, which allows Habitat to help out more people in the community. It's one of the reasons Polich keeps coming back.
"I just like what they do for the community and I know the Habitat dollars are local," he said.