Bibles for Missions Thrift Center is a favorite place to pop some tags among Northwestern students. On Feb. 11, the store closed its doors for some much-needed renovations including replacing the carpet, changing the layout and repainting. The store reopened this week.
Bibles was a bowling alley/café for many years before it was purchased in 2007.
“After being open about eight and a half years to the public, things start to wear and tear,” Jessica Bruinsma, Regional Coordinator said. “Along the years as we have talked about different changes that we’ve like to make in terms of layout, along with the carpet and paint, we thought it was a good idea to close our doors for a week and a half to get some of those things done.”
Bibles is planning to have a soft reopening this week and a grand reopening later this year.
The remodel itself might attract new customers to the thrift center.
“The remodel will get people in the store right away,” junior Casey McKinstrey said. “People will be interested to see what the new layout looks like and how it looks different from the former bowling alley.”
The remodel is one of the more obvious improvements Bible has made in the past few years.
“Improvements to the store are always being made, but they just are not as visible,” Bruisma said.
“The remodel is necessary because it gives Bibles a clean, fresh look,” Syverson said. “With the new layout, they will be more prepared to serve the community. It is good for them to be seeking out improvements and striving to make their store more open and welcoming to customers.”
Volunteers are hopeful that the improvements will help the store seem more welcoming with a more modern atmosphere.
“The remodel might create more of an interest in working there due to the modernization and new look of the store,” McKinstrey said.
The number of volunteers might increase after the remodel as well according to sophomore Jordan Syverson.
“I think the remodel will create interest in volunteers because more people will become aware of Bibles for Missions, their mission and what they stand for,” Syverson said.
Bibles for Missions Thrift Center’s mission is to spread the hope of Christ by providing funds for worldwide Bibles placement. Funds are raised through a network of profitable thrift centers that benefit both from volunteers and their communities, as well as seeking to recruit enthusiastic and committed volunteers for all thrift center positions. Bibles also strives to annually increase funding for Bible placement.
