New thrift store in Waterloo to further mission of helping those with disabilities

Apr. 1—WATERLOO — A Clear Lake-based nonprofit has been working to fill shelves and racks with items for its new thrift store in Waterloo.

One Vision Thrift Store opened Monday at 2060 Sovia Drive, Suite 115. One Vision supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The organization opened its doors in 1971 in Clear Lake as a campus of 10 houses to provide support for people with disabilities. Formerly known as Handicap Village and Opportunity Village, it now serves more than 300 people in 23 communities in northern Iowa.

While the nonprofit is not be bringing its programs to the Cedar Valley, thrift store revenues will support its work as well as provide employment opportunities. This is One Vision's third thrift store, with the other two in Clear Lake and Fort Dodge.

Kelsey Fleming, the store's brand manager, and her team have been working to set up the 10,000-square-foot building since the beginning of March. The sales floor takes up 75% of that space. She said more than 10,000 items have been put out for sale, although the store is not as full as she wants it to be.

There are racks of men's, women's and children's clothes; shoes; bags; jewelry and accessories; home decor; kitchen wares; and furniture. The current stock came from excess donations at the other two stores.

There are no set prices, and everything gets marked according to its value. Fleming said the average price of a piece of adult clothing is around $8 while children's clothing is around $4. The average price of everything in the store is $6.

Fleming said the organization decided to create a store in Waterloo because it saw a need. She said they looked at the Ames and Des Moines areas but settled on the Cedar Valley.

"(Based on) the median income and population, the need for a thrift store was really here," she said.

Local partners also enticed them. The organization previously partnered with Exceptional Persons Inc. — another group that works with people with disabilities. Fleming said the organization could partner with EPI to employ those with special needs.

Apart from assisting an underserved community, One Vision hopes to further provide the area with a place to recycle unwanted goods.

"Our goal is to provide, you know, quality used items for the community, while also helping a community keep things out of their landfill," Fleming said. "We're hoping to bring jobs and volunteer opportunities and partnership opportunities."

In 2023, the organization saved 1.5 million pounds of items from the landfill. She expects that number will be above 2 million pounds this year.

Items that don't sell are mailed to other organizations to sell, recycle and repurpose.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The donation drop-off is open whenever the store is open.

The store accepts most items except large appliances, baby furniture such as cribs and car seats, stereos and VHS tapes, encyclopedias and text books, items with odor or excess animal hair, non-working electrical items, paint or hazardous materials, tires, TVs, computers or ruined items.

The organization plans to hire four to six staff members as well as volunteers. Those interested can apply at onevision.org.

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