ReStores also feature new inventory donated by the local business community
The ReStores contain a wide variety of pre-loved items for your home or renovation needs — like furniture, large and small appliances, home decor, kitchen cabinets, building materials, and a great section for clothing, shoes and accessories, among others. However, when browsing through ReStore inventory, you may have noticed that, aside from the one-of-a-kind finds donated by individual donors from the community, there are pocket displays of new items as well. Thanks to local businesses and corporations that donate inventory to a nonprofit like Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin (Habitat HMD), our ReStores get its fair share of excess and returned inventory, thus ensuring a wide range of new and unused items for sale that cater to customers with different needs and budgets.
As an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity Canada, Habitat HMD is known to help build affordable homes, providing safe shelter to people in the communities it serves, in Halton Region (Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville), Mississauga and the recently added Dufferin County (Orangeville). What perhaps many people don’t know is that Habitat HMD’s other contribution to the community is sustainability through its social enterprise in the Habitat ReStores.
The ReStores support sustainability by reusing and repurposing used furniture, appliances, kitchens, clothing, home decor, and more through generous donors in the community. And instead of these still-useful items going into disposal sites, it is re-circulated to Ontarians who either want something at a more affordable price, or are looking to find a unique treasure when decorating or building their home. What’s more, the ReStores also sell brand new items, generously donated by corporations and local businesses in the community that need to clear its warehouse for varying reasons, items like overstock, returns, and other unused inventory.
Of these companies or businesses that donate inventory to Habitat HMD, a few do this as their corporate social responsibility effort, while others do these repeated donations as part of their yearly CSR or even team building activities.
In recent years, our ReStores have sold mid- to high-end name brand appliances and small kitchen appliances, helping people with an eye for quality achieve great savings of up to 70% off retail price. Because of good relationships maintained with suppliers and distributors, plus retail stores and gift shops, and even real estate brokerages and liquidation companies, Habitat HMD has had a steady stream of quality new and unused stock that benefited both thrift shoppers and bargain hunters. And, with its recent integration of Dufferin County (Orangeville ReStore), it could open up more access to local businesses from that area to be regular donors and contributors to Habitat’s cause which is providing affordable housing to families and community partners that need it. Or it could go hand-in-hand with a business or corporation’s corporate social responsibility program.
Aside from appliances and building materials, it might surprise you to know that each of the Burlington, Milton and Orangeville ReStores has a clothing section. For those who are looking for trendy and one-of-a-kind clothing for spring and summer 2021 in Ontario, vintage clothing and Y2K clothing are trending, so there are plenty of clothing options that one can mix and match from by searching through the ReStore’s amazing selection of used and almost new clothing. Some local businesses also donate out-of-season, returns and unworn clothing inventory that also make for some incredibly affordable fashion for the smart shopper or support of sustainable fashion.
A real estate brokerage firm out of Mississauga actually partnered with Habitat HMD and collected over $10,000 worth of gifts-in-kind donation during a clothing drive in 2020. They helped their clients spring clean and donate tons of clothing. And they did it again in 2021, showing that other businesses are happy to keep donating inventory to a nonprofit’s worthy cause, whether it’s affordable housing or sustainability, as long as it’s in support of the Halton region, City of Mississauga and Dufferin county communities. Habitat HMD ReStores accept donations of clothing from homes and businesses alike.
Lastly, one might not know it but the ReStores of Habitat HMD are a fantastic source of home decor — and a great part of its stock the past two years have been donated by a chain of gift shops and other retail stores, a mix of new, returned and overstock inventory. And these can go as much as 75% off retail price. Seasonal home decor, accent pieces and useful personal accessories can be found across the four ReStores.
Especially during covid-19, stocking and supply chain issues may have created excess, overstock, or returned inventory for businesses. If your business or company is thinking of donating inventory to a nonprofit, please keep Habitat HMD in mind — we accept donation drop-offs, and we can even pick up bulk items. Habitat HMD also issues tax receipts which can help in recouping a portion of the cost of donated items. It’s even possible to make this a CSR partnership, which can support your marketing and PR efforts. Best of all, proceeds from your donation go towards the construction of the homes we build.
If your business or company is thinking of making a donation, whether it’s in the form of inventory (gift-in-kind), or monetary or some other form of one-time or sustained support, visit us on our website, or contact our procurement guy, Charles Digiovanni at cdigiovanni@habitathm.ca.
About Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin ReStores
The Habitat HMD ReStore is an amazing place to shop for unique furniture, antiques, appliances, used kitchens, paintings, home décor, doors and more. The Habitat HMD ReStore has locations in the Halton Region (Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville), Mississauga and Dufferin county (Amaranth, East Garafraxa, Grand Valley, Melancthon, Mono, Mulmur, Orangeville, Shelburne). Every visit to the ReStore is different, and every purchase helps support our home building projects in our community.
About Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin
Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin is a proud member of our national organization Habitat Canada and is one of 50 local Habitat affiliates across our country. Habitat for Humanity brings communities together to help families build strength, stability, and independence through affordable home ownership. We provide a solid foundation for better, healthier lives in Canada and around the world. You can find out more about Habitat Canada at https://habitathmd.ca/.
Written by: Abe Cipriano
Updated Sep 20, 2022