A resale shop whose funds benefit the Junior League of Springfield is in a new location after 38 years on E. Sunshine. KSMU’s Michele Skalicky has more.
A group of Junior League of Springfield members and representatives from the Springfield Chamber of Commerce gathered today at the Junior League’s headquarters at Oak Grove and Bennett to cut the ribbon on the Plaid Door’s new location.
“Cutting the ribbon”
The Junior League’s president, Ashley French, said they moved the store to their headquarters because the business climate changed.
"Back in the day when we opened, we were one of few resale shops in Springfield, but over the past ten years I think we've increased to maybe an additional 50 resale shops alone in Springfield, so the competition was tough. The business was hard to kind of maintain, but we were such a fixture with what we did," she said.
She said they didn’t want to lose the store, so they decided to move it.
The Plaid Door will have reduced hours—it will be open the second Saturday of every month from 10 am to 3 pm and will be entirely volunteer run.
The resale shop has brought in $3 million in net revenue over the last 38 years for the Junior League, which French said exists to train women to make a difference.
"Ultimately, what we want to do is promote volunteerism, so we want women to come here and teach and train them to serve on a board effectively, serve on a committee effectively," she said.
In the past, JLS has helped start the Discovery Center of Springfield, the YMCA’s Prime Time after school program, KOZK and Isabel’s House Crisis Nursery of the Ozarks.
The league’s main focus is child abuse and neglect.
The Plaid Door relies exclusively on donations from JLS members and the community.
