Potentials Resale Leaving Creve Coeur Next Month

Youth in Need plans to move Potentials Resale from Creve Coeur to St. Charles on April 2. 

Youth In Need Marketing Director April Klutenkamper said the store has been very successful in Creve Coeur, but the board opted to relocate to St. Charles because rent is less expensive. 

The nonprofit organization opened Potentials in April 2011 at 12392 Olive Blvd. in the Westgate Shopping Centre because it was looking for a way to have a presence in St. Louis County. Youth in Need primarily serves clients in St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren and Montgomery Counties as well as the city of St. Louis. 

"It was a good retail location and it was centrally located for all of our donors," said Youth in Need Director of Social Enterprise Lisa Maurer. 

However, an opportunity appeared in St. Charles at 325 South Fifth Street which is closer to the Youth in Need headquarters. 

The store will remain open in Creve Coeur through March. 

Maurer said the new location will allow youth who are served by the transitional living program or independent living program to more easily get to the store. 

"It's a little bit bigger and it's closer to our headquarters," Maurer said. "We like to get our teen youth involved in the store and transportation was always an issue."

The youth help out in the store and learn skills to put on a resume. Youth in Need has also been able to help kids with clothing or furniture as they transition out of the program and onto their own. 

The store is staffed by at least one paid staff member and volunteers. It's seen financial growth since opening two years ago, Maurer said. 

"We've found our donors are very generous," she said. "We don't do as much consignment as we initially did. So that's great."

Social enterprise is a growing way for nonprofit organizations to raise money. In addition to Potentials, the ScholarShop in Clayton and Webster Groves benefits The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and [RE]FRESH in Brentwood benefits the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition. 

In St. Charles, Cynthia and Tom Besselman plan to open a resale shop in May called Renewed Treasures at 2215 Droste, which will benefit Christian missions.

"Resale does not have the stigma it used to have with the economy being the way it is," Maurer said. "And the fact that there are other resale shops clustered by is a positive thing. People like to go from one shop to another." 

Maurer still gets a thrill from digging through boxes donated by supporters, looking for treasures. 

"It's a fun place to work," she said. 

Resale will still remain in Creve Coeur. The National Council of Jewish Women store is located on Lindbergh Blvd. and later this year, Red Racks will open in the former Walgreens location on Olive Boulevard. Proceeds from that outlet benefit Disabled American Veterans.