How ReStores Help Communities Thrive

Whenever Valentine's Day rolls around, we shower our families and significant others with love and praise (rightfully so!). But the love doesn’t have to stop when Valentine's Day ends, or at our own front doors. If you’re looking for more ways “share the love” with your community, supporting your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a great way to do it.

When neighbors show up for one another--by sharing resources, their networks, their skills, their time, their values, and their kindness--they receive valuable social connections, and benefits from those connections, called social capital. Some examples of building social capital include attending townhalls to address important social issues, writing to local leaders, shopping at local businesses, checking in on neighbors, recommending job opportunities or local services, volunteering for a cause, and donating items to those in need. 

Communities with strong social capital often experience higher trust, stronger civic engagement, and better economic resilience. On the other hand, communities with low social capital--that is, where people feel disconnected from their community, value material self-interests, and struggle with economic inequality--often experience higher crime rates and fewer economic opportunities. Some research even suggests that building social capital in struggling communities could be more effective at promoting child welfare than child protection and family services. 

"Optimism, satisfaction with life, perceptions of government institutions, and political involvement all stem from the fundamental dimensions of social capital." - Claridge, T., 2004. Narayan and Cassidy, 2001.

ReStores allow communities to build their social capital in countless ways. They promote resource-sharing through donations and affordable resale, offer volunteer opportunities and workshops for people to build their network and develop new skills, address local issues like affordable housing and home repairs, host events that foster unity and improve well-being, and keep money circulating locally, either through their own business or partnerships with nearby businesses.

In the past year, DuPage-CSS Habitat ReStores have built a community garden at South Suburban Joy Emporium that fed over 100 community members, helped raise more than $3,000 toward affordable townhomes in West Chicago, brought neighbors together at events like Women Build, partnered with local businesses like Garcia's Warehouse, and generated funds that helped build homes for three or more families.

Our affiliate has also worked alongside local leaders, like mayor Joe Wood in Park Forest, to strengthen housing stability efforts and advocate for policies that will support the community's well-being. 

Pictured: ReStore employees/volunteers building Joy Emporium's community garden. 

Pictured: the completed community garden.

Like the community garden at Joy Emporium and the example set by Koinonia Farm, meaningful change grows when we cultivate it together. So, when you donate a gently used item, volunteer with us, shop, or share our mission with a friend, you're not just buying a lamp or giving a cabinet away--you're creating a ripple effect of stability and shared success, right in your own neighborhood. 

That’s love that lasts far beyond February 14th.