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Mary And Martha House Opens Boutique

Tribune photo by LOIS KINDLE

Manager Jan Falcione of Mary and Martha House will welcome visitors today at an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. today at Second Hand Rose, a thrifty-chic boutique at 100 Shell Point Road.

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By LOIS KINDLE

lkindle@tampatrib.com

Published: April 1, 2009

RUSKIN - Laurie Kepler and Jan Falcione are always cooking up ideas to raise more money. After all, fundraising is a major part of the job at Mary and Martha House.

Their latest vision includes creating a workplace for battered women staying at the shelter that would be a regular funding source, much like the existing thrift store on First Street Southeast.

With the help of volunteers - and a few of the women from the shelter - the resourceful duo will host an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. today to preview Second Hand Rose, a thrifty-chic boutique at 100 Shell Point Road.

"It's part of a pilot program," Kepler said. "The women will learn retail sales skills, gain self-confidence and improve their marketability. We're also partnering with the Ruskin Community Service Center to develop a program called Bridge to Self-Sufficiency."

The program will provide employment, transportation, housing and education to help women, especially those of low income, to regain independence and improve their standard of living. It also will offer emergency and transitional housing, anger management classes and Suits for Success, where referrals can get a complete outfit suitable for job interviews. After three months of employment, women can return for another complete outfit.

The pilot program also will recruit area high school students to work at the boutique - which would earn them community service hours and valuable job skills.

Owned by Mary and Martha House since 2001, the domed structure housing the store is known to many in Ruskin as the old Observer building. It was purchased with money from a large donation from the Jerry Opprel family, Kepler said.

"We were looking for a more visible place for Mary and Martha House," Falcione added. "We're the area's best-kept secret."

The 3,700-square-foot boutique has "name-brand, new and gently used, upscale clothing and accessories for women, including suits, sportswear, special-occasion dresses, leisurewear, jewelry, shoes and handbags," Falcione said. "We also have a large selection of prom dresses donated by Trendy Teens Consignment in Riverview as part of our 'Operation Prom Gown.'"

The dresses will sell for as little as $20 and, according to Falcione, the hope is that some of the teens who buy them will become Mary and Martha House volunteers.

Second Hand Rose's normal hours of operation will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Parking is behind the building off Second Street.

Mary and Martha House's original thrift store and drop-off center at 1009 First St. S.W. will remain the same.

For information about the open house or the boutique, call (813) 645-7628.

Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553.

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