My City July 2022

ADVERTORIAL

JOINING MINDY WILLIAMS (CENTER) FOR THE RIBBON-CUTTING WERE (L-R) WHALEY BOARD MEMBERS SUE MAC, ANNE KELLEY, TODD GILBERT, GORDY TAYLOR, KARIMA AMLANI AND NADEEM GEBRAEL.

S E C OND CHAN C E S RECLAIMED BY WHALEY

T ucked into a space on the corner of Second Street and Buckham Alley is Reclaimed by Whaley, a resale shop that bene ts area foster kids. Mindy Williams, CEO/Di rector of Whaley Children’s Center, has spent many years working in the child welfare system, and saw a need to provide foster children with a way to develop skills that would help them nd employment. In 2018, she was visiting a friend in Arizona when she toured a resale shop that o’ered jobs to foster kids. “I fell in love with it!” she exclaimed. “I thought, ‘we could do this at Whaley’.” She took the concept to the Board of Directors who were equally enthusiastic and approved it. Providing both former and current foster youth the oppor tunity to gain retail skills, Reclaimed opened in the fall of 2019. “We were very lucky to have found that Downtown location,” Williams shares. Phil Shaltz, a big ambassador for Whaley

Children’s Center, helped nd the space for the store. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have gotten it,” she admits. Shaltz has been an advocate for the Center for the last six years and Williams says he took a lot of time to get to know the kids. “To say he is an advocate is an understatement.” Shoppers at Reclaimed nd a variety of items, includ ing upscale and well-known name brand clothing for men, women and the entire family. You will also nd other treasures including antiques, artwork, jewelry, furniture, one-of-a-kind collectables, home goods, big-ticket items and much more. Merchandise can be purchased in the store and online. “It is a high-end resale boutique and items change every week,” Williams explains. “People fall in love with it.” Reclaimed was also able to obtain a wholesale license, so the items for sale are a mix of reclaimed and new.