Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Ana Woodard and Deborah Shields
Sandy Lusk, assistant manager of Ditto Family Resale, says of her shop: “You never know what you’re going to find.”
Located on Manchester Road in Warson Woods, Ditto has garnered the attention of both high-end furniture collectors and thrift-shoppers. Founded in 2012 by eight schools, the mission of the store is to do more than sell gently used clothes, living room tables, and kitchen appliances. Its larger purpose is to raise money to help defray the cost of tuition.
To date, close to $1 million of financial aid has been raised from sales of donated items for families at Central Christian School, Covenant Christian School, Heritage Classical Christian Academy, Kirk Day School, Promise Christian Academy, South City Community School, Twin Oaks Christian School, and Westminster Christian Academy.
“For some of these schools, it’s keeping the lights on. By not having to raise as much money for scholarships, the [schools] can pay teachers,” says Ana Woodard, president of the shop’s board of directors.
Deborah Shields, the shop’s general manager, was a recipient of the shop’s scholarship fund when her own children attended Covenant Christian School. “We never could have sent our kids there if we hadn’t had help,” she says.
Today, merchandise arrives on an almost daily basis. But when the store first opened, the founders worried about attracting enough donations in a market flooded with beloved resale shops. Luckily, that has not been a problem, says Woodard.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
While local community members are the shop’s main donors, other items wind up at the store through donations from estate sale companies who donate unsold items, and retail boutiques, like Evereve, which gives Ditto a portion of their unsold inventory after each season. The shop purchases sunglasses wholesale and prices them accordingly. O
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
ver the years, Ditto has been the beneficiary of coveted items such as a Salvador Dalí print, a vintage Oscar de la Renta dress, and an antique wooden bed.
So who shops here? “Most of our customers have nothing to do with our schools,” says Woodard. “A lot of them aren’t even local.”
The shop has seen growth over eight years. Today, it employs nineteen people and there are
plans for an expansion next-door. That space will be reserved for selling designer clothes, a growing sub-category from the days when clients came in to mostly shop the racks of discount clothes.
But beyond the good deals, the shop’s original purpose remains at the forefront.
“For families who receive funds, it’s life-changing,” says Woodard, recalling a conversation with a school director. His school reserves some of the scholarship money for the middle of the year when, inevitably, a family will face a hardship. “Because of the funds, that director can now ask, ‘What do you need?’”
