Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County’s ReSale Outlet has been open for five years.

Text and Photos
By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County celebrated five years of operating the ReSale Outlet in Warsaw with a celebration on Saturday, May 4.

The ReSale Outlet is a storefront that accepts and sells donations to raise funds for Habitat’s programs. In 2023, nearly 30,000 items were sold at the ReSale Outlet. About 60 to 70 volunteers put in around 2,300 volunteer hours into the store in 2023.

The anniversary was celebrated with sales, a silent auction, giveaways and food trucks.

“We were all volunteer-led for the beginning and as it’s grown, we’ve added staff,” said Ben Logan, Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County’s executive director, about the outlet. “Over the last five years, it’s paid for all of its own expenses and has raised $300,000 for Habitat. That’s the equivalent of two entire homes, to put that into perspective.”

Habitat does offer free pickup for items if people wish to donate but are unable to visit the outlet. Residents can go to the Kosciusko Habitat for Humanity website to request item pickup.

Almost a year into the outlet’s operations, the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“It was tough, but also at the same time, a lot of people were remodeling,” said Logan. “They were stuck at home, doing all these house projects…that really, in a different way, kind of propelled us too.”

The ReSale Outlet, located at 3970 Corridor Drive, is open every week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The outlet accepts furniture, cabinetry, appliances, flooring, plumbing, lighting, building materials, home décor and more. Each item is cleaned and tested by volunteers, then sold to raise money for Habitat.

“If you like being hands-on, and seeing a lot of cool items, or you know a thing or two about being handy, we’d love to have you volunteer,” said Logan. “Every weekend is a fundraiser here at the store. And that is more money for Habitat to be building homes here locally in Kosciusko County.”

A full list of items the ReSale Outlet does and does not accept can be viewed on the Kosciusko Habitat site, which also lists drop-off instructions for bringing items to the store.

Several items were part of a silent auction during the celebration.