New furniture thrift store helps fund Bradenton ministry’s addiction treatment program
Loving Hands Ministries, a 24-month residential drug rehabilitation program for men, has expanded its thrift store operation by adding a furniture store next door.
Proceeds from sales at the new store, located in the former St. Vincent de Paul space at 701 Manatee Ave. E., help to defray the cost of operating the rehab program.
Sheri Ketner, manager of the thrift store and the new furniture store, was pleased with business on opening day.
“We sold eight pieces of furniture,” she said.
The thrift store is filled with furniture, kitchen items, clothing, crafts, and glassware, while the furniture store has home décor, large area rugs, and art.
Founded by Wendell and Nancy Wilson in 1985, Loving Hands Ministries has helped hundreds of men, ages 18-40, overcome their addictions and achieve a brighter future.
“We have been so blessed by our long-term relationships that we have in this community,” said Kimberly Wilson-Dodson, president and CEO of Loving Hands Ministries.
Wilson-Dodson took over leadership of the ministry after her parents died within a few months of each other in 2016.
Wendell Wilson was the oldest of nine children in a poor Virginia family, headed by an alcoholic father. Wilson left home at age 16. He was living on the streets of Alexandria, Va., when he went to a revival that turned his life around.
“One of the key ingredients, my dad said, was that you can’t put a price on a life. We never charge a man or his family for the time they spend with us,” Wilson-Dodson said. “What we believe makes a difference in what Loving Hands does is that we teach men what it is to love and follow Jesus. We believe that He is the one to make the difference and the change.”
The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic makes this the prime season to have a thrift store, Ketner said.
“People have lost their jobs and people are cleaning out their closets,” she said.
The ministry has a box truck ready to pick up gently used furniture two days a week.
“It has been a pleasure and a great blessing to be a part of building the business of Loving Hands Thrift Store, and exciting to gain the much-needed room to expand into a building designated just for furniture,” Ketner said.
Loving Hands is a 501(c)(3). All donations are tax-deductible.
To volunteer or find more information, call 941-757-3434. More information is also available at lovinghands.net.
