The Princeton Closet Touching lives, a day at a time

Story and photos by Katlyn Sanden

For nearly 60 years, The Princeton Closet has been a staple amongst the Princeton community and beyond. What started as a mission to get shoes for migrant children has now blossomed into a full-fledged, charity-driven business.

When the Church Women United began this project, they just wanted to provide reasonably priced shoes, clothes, and other items for families who may have been too proud to accept charity. Little did they know their mission would turn into the most sought-after second-hand retail store in Bureau County.

Not only has it become a fad to be thrifty, but The Princeton Closet is much more than a typical second-hand shop. Current store manager, Jenn Conwell, describes the vibe as clean and eclectic. She says it’s cool to see all the new things come in each week.

“We’ve worked really hard in the past year to make it feel like a retail store you’d see on any main street,” Conwell said. “We keep everything organized and clean. Our prices are excellent for a resale shop, and we’re really passionate. Every single week, it looks completely different than the last. We really like to keep the excitement. We have a lot of loyal customers.”

The Princeton Closet offers everything from clothing for the whole family to home décor, jewelry, furniture, toys, books, and so much more. And it’s all thanks to the generous donors, which Conwell credits for donating high-end items.

“We have 58 volunteers and six employees,” said Conwell. “Every volunteer has their little department they take care of so it’s nice. We have somebody who just does linens, someone who just does fabric, and a couple ladies who just do jewelry. Having volunteers that come in and take care of certain departments takes a ton off my plate. We need people from baggers, to cashiers, to people to clean up hangers when basket days start, to sorting and hanging clothes. Every department needs at least one of these people, so it’s a lot.”

She says the most challenging aspect of gathering the troops is payroll. While she wishes everyone could get a paycheck, the mission of The Princeton Closet has always been to collect the proceeds from sales and donate them back to local non-profit organizations. Payroll is by far their biggest expense, but even after all expenses were paid, they were still able to give $218,000 back to the local community through their Lending a Hand Program. Thirty-six non-for-profits received some of those funds.

“I had left corporate retail of about 22 years and was just taking some time off when I heard The Princeton Closet wanted a manager,” Conwell said. “I was a corporate retail store manager for very, very high volume. Even though this is much smaller scale, I feel it’s so much bigger in the community impact. We give all our proceeds back to nonprofit organizations at the beginning of every year through our Lending a Hand Program. We also have a voucher program with Bureau County agencies to provide for emergency needs. We work with schools, churches, and other organizations who need us.”

Conwell said another neat thing is that they recycle everything whenever possible as they don’t want to see the landfills fill up. They recycle any non-sellable goods, including metal, cardboard, and soft goods such as clothing, linens, and shoes.

As far as the future of The Princeton Closet goes, Conwell has big plans.

“We’re redesigning the website right now, which will launch us to a lot bigger demographic,” she said. “We’ll be able to be found quickly on Trip Advisor, Bing, Google. We’re also starting a texting program where you can join our text program and get weekly updates on the store and what’s going on. We’re at full capacity now. We just built a beautiful donation center, but we’re going to keep growing. Space is hard, though. We own our building and donation center, so we don’t want to move. At the same time, we run out of space quickly because our donors are very gracious.”

Conwell says that’s a good problem, though, and says the people – donors, volunteers, and paid employees – are what make The Princeton Closet a success.

“I’ve always worked with people,” said Conwell. “I’ve traveled vastly in my previous job and am born and raised in Princeton. It’s amazing to be back in my community giving back every day. I absolutely love waking up every morning coming to this job. It’s so fun. It’s creative. I still get the retail side. I still get the business management side. There’s a lot to running a non-for-profit. And then I get to help people in need. I have the best job.”

The Princeton Closet accepts donations at the rear of the building Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and they’re always welcoming volunteers who have a passion for positively impacting their community. For more information, visit theprincetoncloset.com.

Manager of The Princeton Closet, Jenn says she absolutely loves her job because she gets to work and decorate. This is just a small sample of the type of items available for purchase.