SEQUIM — Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County expects to expand its fundraising enterprise with a boutique in downtown Sequim.
The nonprofit is moving its Sequim office from 350 W. Washington St. to 231 E. Washington St. where the new boutique will open sometime in mid-November. The date has not yet been set.
Colleen Robinson, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County, said opening a store in Sequim has been a long time coming.
While there also is a Habitat store in Port Angeles, Robinson said both stores are part of the same business and will not be in competition with each other.
“We’re one, big, happy family,” Robinson said.
The boutique is about 1,000 square feet and will sell donated furniture, home decor, household goods and jewelry.
Robinson describes the new Sequim store as a “vintage boutique” that tentatively will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The phone number is 360-681-6780.
All proceeds from store sales will go to the nonprofit’s mission of providing affordable housing in Clallam County and in Sequim supporting neighborhood revitalization.
With the opening of a new store, Robinson said Habitat also is launching an intern program that trains high school students in retail, giving them experience and skills to put on a resume.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity for students,” Robinson said. “We’re giving a hand up, not a hand out.”
Robinson said students can earn school credit, learn soft skills, gain knowledge in retail and funding a nonprofit, and receive a certification from Habitat at the end of their internship.
“It’s training a workforce,” Robinson said. “Let’s give [students] some experience.”
Habitat also is in the process of hiring a part-time store supervisor who will manage the store and train students, Robinson said.
Habitat must present the intern program to the Sequim School Board for approval at the next board meeting on Monday, Robinson said, and the program should be open to students by the second semester of the school year in January.
The boutique also will feature a “dot” program where the store will mark down an item after it has been on the floor for 30 days; if an item has been in the store for 90 days it will be sent to the Port Angeles store.
Donated inventory for the boutique must be taken to the Habitat store at 728 E. Front St. in Port Angeles, Robinson said; donations cannot be accepted at the Sequim store.
Habitat has a truck available to transport donated items to the store in Port Angeles and interested donors can call 360-417-7543 or email customer service@habitatclallam.org to arrange a donation pick up.
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County, visit www.habitatclallam.org.
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Erin Hawkins is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach her at ehawkins@sequimgazette.com.
Habitat for Humanity’s new store, at 213 E. Washington St., sells everything from donated furniture, home goods, jewelry and more. The proceeds from the store go toward Habitat’s mission of neighborhood revitalization in the Sequim area. (Erin Hawkins/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
