Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County

Habitat Store staff on the loading dock.

We’re doing big things for a big mission! The Habitat Store is happy to announce that we’ve done an entire Store and receiving room “reset,” and we now have a new Bargain Center.

The Habitat Store Staff, along with a team of volunteers, worked tirelessly to redesign how the Store space is used. Our receiving room area has had too little space, making it difficult to get vital donations in and onto our sales floor. Our goal is always to get the generous donations we receive every day processed, priced, and onto our sales floor for eager customers as fast as we can.

The habitat Store runs completely off of donations. Every donation we receive helps us build more affordable homes in Whatcom County.

The Store reset took a lot of work to improve access for our customers. We want to help our customers find what they’re looking for easier, as well as make sure the Store is easy to keep clean by our many volunteers. Our sales goal this year is a big one: $700,000, which will make it possible for Habitat to fund 9 new homes. To hit this big goal, we need to make every inch of floor space count.

The new Bargain Area also helps us use every inch of space we have.

The reset would not have happened without our dedicated staff and volunteers and their physical strength, commitment, and ideas. We also want to give a big shout out to our Construction Manager, Paul Stromdahl, who played a big part in our new look. He and his team built a new door to connect the receiving room with the sales floor, improving the flow of merchandise Store-wide. Paul is managing our build in Sudden Valley, yet he made time to make the changes to the Store happen. Thank you, Paul!

“I want to thank our incredible staff involved in this project,” says Malie Laolagi, Habitat Store General Manger. “They work long days every day and always end the day with smiles on their faces. I also want to thank the volunteers who donated their weekends and worked just as hard as the Store staff, making the move faster and getting so much done.”

Another shout out goes to 2 if our Champion Volunteers: Greg Jipson, and our latest Habitat home buyer, Linda Clow. Linda brought lunch and snacks for all the staff and volunteers during the reset, which kept us going. Greg took ownership of the hardware section of the Store and created a cool new layout designed to optimize access and visibility.

We’re deeply grateful to have such a generous and supportive community committed to our mission. So many generous hearts supporting Habitat in creating safe, decent, affordable housing in our community.

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