Society of St. Vincent de Paul to open second thrift store

The Sioux Falls chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is adding a new location to further serve residents in need.

The society, which has a thrift store and donation center at 431 N. Cliff Ave., plans to build a second location on the southwest side of town that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023.

The thrift store sells discounted clothing, household items, home decor, baby items, furniture and more. It also gives away diapers six times a month and has formula vouchers available, along with other functions, according to Sioux Falls council president Cathy Crisp. 

Crisp said local society leadership saw a need to expand to the west side to make their services and programs more accessible to a wider population. The society purchased land at 41st Street and Ellis Road a year ago and plans to break ground in the spring and open in the fall.

The new store will be larger than the current one and will carry out the same functions. There also will be a training area built for society volunteers.

Founded in 1833, the worldwide organization follows Jesus Christ’s call to serve, according to the society’s website. The society’s core value is to share Jesus with others and to help those in need, Crisp said. This value has three prongs; first, it’s to grow in faith as individuals. Next, it’s to grow in faith together with others in the society. Finally, it’s to take the collective faith out into the community to those the society helps.

While many people know about the store, Crisp said people often don’t hear about the society’s outreach efforts. In pairs, volunteers conduct home visits to meet with struggling families and determine how best to assist them. 

“We just try and help people in the community who need a little hand up,” she said. “We don’t have a ton of restrictions on what we can help with, and it’s kind of a case-by-case basis.”

About four years ago, Crisp was asked to volunteer to do home visits by the conference of the society at her parish, Christ the King Catholic Church. She decided to go outside of her comfort zone and give it a try and was struck immediately by how many people in the community are in need.

“I got a pull inside my head that we take so many things for granted, that we have shampoo and soap and all those things that we walk by in the grocery store all the time, and we just buy them,” she said. “There are so many families out there that can’t buy the simplest of necessities.”

A year ago, she moved from the conference president at Christ the King into her current role, which oversees the five conferences in Sioux Falls. 

Crisp said the biggest thing she wants people to understand is that the thrift store isn’t just a business. The profits go back to each of the outreach conferences at the parishes, funding services like the home visits.

“If somebody needs help with their rent, it’s (possible to be met) because the store helps provide those funds,” she said. “The new store will help us help more people with more sales and more volunteers.”

The society is accepting financial donations for the new location. A donor has offered up to $100,000 in matched donations through Dec. 24. Donations can be made out to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and sent to or dropped off at the Cliff Avenue store.

Crisp said she hopes the new location will help the society grow to be able to serve more people in the community.

“With Sioux Falls growing as quickly as it is, I think it’s important to have those resources available all over,” she said. “Whether it’s the discounted items or the outreach, I think this will help us serve more people, reach more people and help more people.”