ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — After 40 years of operation, Community Shop in Rockport has officially become a nonprofit organization with its own location.
Volunteers at the shop, located on East Cornwall Street, sort through donations of clothes, purses, furniture and other second-hand items.
"The net proceeds from our shop are given back to the nonprofits," President of Community Shop, Tess Sauthier said.
Neighborhood News Reporter Victoria Balderrama got a behind the scenes look.
"This is all, these are all full of books and DVDs waiting to be sold. These are your everyday purses. The lady that handles our purses is just a whiz," Sauthier said.
The organization's move to its own location marks a significant milestone.
"We're very pleased about being on our own and we think that the community will be very pleased as well," Sauthier said.
Many locals were already familiar with Community Shop through its previous work with other nonprofits in the area.
"We were one of these 6 group members of Castaways here in town. We were the group that actually gave our monies back to the community," Sauthier said.
According to Sauthier, the organization raised almost $1 million through their nonprofit in 2023 and 2024. She hopes to reach that goal again this year.
"Our mission is to give back to the community in the form of monetary grants, to qualified nonprofits," Sauthier said.
The shop's success depends entirely on donations from caring neighbors and the work of volunteers.
"We'd like for them to bring their donations. We'd love to have them again and, and of course we want them to shop in our store," Sauthier said.
Community Shop is open for donations Monday through Saturday. The store is open for customers Thursday through Saturday.
