Gift Shop Keeps on Giving

The Unity Shoppe, which recently celebrated its centennial, isn’t resting on its laurels.

The popular charity, which eight months ago opened a 4,000-sq.-ft. gift shop at 1209 State Street, opposite the Granada, which also includes a senior resource center, has now opened a 3,000-sq.-ft. furniture and clothing store just a coat hanger’s hurl away at 1207, which also includes a permanent space for a long-term disaster recovery program and its Job Smart program.

Mayor Cathy Murillo cut the ribbon for the new store, which is stocked with a considerable amount of new furniture donated by real estate staging companies, watched by executive director Tom Reed and board president Barbara Tellefson.

Unity Shoppe deals with 18,000 referrals annually from 300 nonprofits, churches, schools, and hospitals, distributing more than $2 million worth of products yearly to needy families.