Record-breaking season

Sylvia Bre, left, receives her $25 gift certificate from Linda Horton, center, Second Chance manager, and Benita Kiell.

When The Friends of Matheny, Matheny’s auxiliary group, moved its Second Chance Thrift Shop from the basement of the United Methodist Church in Gladstone, NJ, to the adjacent Wesley Hall, which is much larger, the expectation was that business would increase. But no one expected it to be this much.

For the 2010-2011 season, the Second Chance Shop raised $85,000 to benefit Matheny. On April 24 of this year, the shop passed the $100,000 mark for the 2011-2012 season, and the season doesn’t end until after Memorial Day.

Sylvia Bre of Swiftwater, PA, bought a pair of shoes for $2, which put the shop over the $100,000 mark. She received a $25 gift certificate, and the two volunteer salespeople on duty – Benita Kiell of Far Hills and Betty Martin of Basking Ridge – were rewarded with $5 gift certificates.