St. Charles Youth & Family Services, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of RePurpose, a not-for-profit resale shop that operates under a unique business model specifically designed to make a positive difference in the Milwaukee area on Saturday, May 18.

RePurpose, which is located at 4610 W. Fond du Lac Avenue in the Sherman Park neighborhood, is designed to be a training ground for youth and young adults that participate in the St. Charles Youth Employment Services (Y.E.S.) program. As part of the program, RePurpose employs young people in the Milwaukee community that were referred to St. Charles and enables them to gain “real world” job experience in the private sector through four-month on-the-job training internships that focus on learning and practicing critical employment and customer service skills.

“St. Charles is committed to helping young people in our community become self-reliant and successful individuals,” said Cathy Connolly, President of St. Charles. “We’ve found the Y.E.S. Program to be very effective in fulfilling that commitment because it teaches the necessary skills for sustainable employment and lives of success.”

Through the Y.E.S. Program, these young employees are overseen and trained by permanent adult managers with years of experience. The youth work with their trainers until they reach a point of independence based on demonstrated proficiencies. Once their internships are complete and they are trained with skills necessary for lasting success in the workforce, they will be seeking community employment.

RePurpose offers an array of donated and repurposed items for purchase, including small household furnishings, select office furniture, gently used clothing and unique gifts.

St. Charles also operates Refined Boutique located in downtown Wauwatosa. Proceeds from the store also support the Y.E.S. Program. Sales proceeds from ReFind and RePurpose both go to support St. Charles initiatives that enable the organization to teach and train even more youth.

Donations to RePurpose can be made at any time by delivering items directly to the RePurpose location at 4610 West Fond du Lac Avenue or donors can also call (414) 977-4250 and a St. Charles representative will schedule a pick up of large donations.

St. Charles worked closely with Kevin Riordan & Tony Haning from The Boerke Company, Inc. (representing St. Charles) and Tom Gale from Equity Commercial Real Estate, LLC (representing the landlord) in acquiring the 11,200 square feet store space in the Sherman Park neighborhood.

RePurpose is open Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 7 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on St. Charles or RePurpose, please visit www.repurposemke.com.