It’s a term that’s not heard often these days, but department stores used to have a “white sale” every January that featured deep discounts on household items such as bedding and towels.
The Diocesan Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s (SVDP) thrift store at 5969 E. Main St., Columbus, is continuing that tradition with a white sale that will run Jan. 2-31 and include lower prices on traditional white sale items. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. six days a week and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
All money earned at the store goes to the society’s mission, described by diocesan SVDP president Deb Zabloudil as “growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.”
“It’s a great time to pick up bargains,” said her husband, Bob. “Besides our sale items of sheets, towels, comforters and shower curtains, we have dresses, shirts, sweaters, jeans, toys, books, furniture and plenty of other items.”
All items at the store are in “gently used” condition or new, with most donated to the society through donation weekends at which the store brings its 24-foot trailers to diocesan parishes. Deb Zabloudil said there were 17 such collections last year. In addition, people can drop off items behind the store whenever it is open. SVDP stores in Newark, Lancaster and Marion conduct similar programs to collect donated items.
“Besides the items a thrift store might be expected to carry, we’ve received antique furniture from several estates,” Bob Zabloudil said. “Other unusual items which have come to us include Singer miniature sewing machines, which turn out to be of great interest to antiques purchasers, comic book collections, musical instruments and record collections.
“We generally have gold and silver items, including necklaces, rings, silverware and other silver pieces from people who are downsizing or from estates.
“People might think we’re busy at this time of year, but we’re not,” he said. “Our busy time is the periods between winter and spring and between fall and winter, when people need appropriate seasonal clothing.”
The SVDP thrift stores are always looking for new employees to work as retail sales associates, merchandise processors, register operators or counter fillers. They also appreciate volunteers, many of whom receive a credit for the hours they have worked. These credits go back to their local St. Vincent de Paul conferences, which use the monetary value of the credits to provide gift cards for people in need to shop at the store through the SVDP Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. People who shop and donate items to the store help their neighbors who ask SVDP conferences for assistance in furnishing their homes after an eviction, escaping an abusive situation or other life-altering moments.
Some of the store’s paid employees are participants in ARCH (Accompanying Returning Citizens with Hope), an endeavor established by the Diocese of Columbus and the Vincentian Ohio Action Network to help people who have completed prison time to reintegrate into society on their own terms. They often work at the store temporarily while awaiting other employment opportunities.
The society also sponsors St. Lawrence Haven at Columbus Holy Cross Church, which feeds about 300 people every weekday; a free clothing center at the office of the Joint Organization for Inner-City Ministries (JOIN) in Columbus; and the Bishop Griffin Resource Center at Columbus Christ the King Church, which includes a Mid-Ohio Foodbank market and a clothing store and partners with a diaper program, the Mount Carmel Street Medicine program and the Dominican Learning Center’s English As a Second Language classes.
Six Licking County SVDP conferences sponsor a shelter for homeless men that is supported by the Newark thrift stores. SVDP conferences in Delaware County are working to open a shelter for men released from the county jail.
The society has a fund to help people with funeral expenses and partners with credit unions in eight counties to make low-interest loans available for those who meet certain conditions and need money for emergency expenses.
“While we are still gathering data for the year, early numbers show that SVDP helped more than 30,000 people in 2024 with rent to help prevent evictions, utility assistance, security deposits when they moved to new apartments, car repair, gas cards and bus tokens to make sure people could get to work and keep their jobs, food,” Deb Zabloudil said. “This is in addition to providing clothing, toiletries and other needs unique to the people who call to ask for help.”
To learn more about the SVDP thrift stores, go to www.svdpthriftstores.com. Information about the society is available at www.svdpcolumbus.org.