Photo by Jesse Chambers.
Thrift shopping is always fun, but it’s more fun when you know your dollars support a good cause.
You can enjoy that feeling at Sozo Trading Co. in Avondale, which bills itself as “an upscale thrift store.”
Proceeds support Sozo Children, a Birmingham non-profit that seeks to make better lives for orphaned or neglected children in Uganda, Africa.
The store sells a large assortment of thrift items, merchandise from Ugandan markets and leases 24 booth spaces to local vendors.
“It is very satisfying knowing that the proceeds from the store, along with other donations, have made it possible for the children in Uganda to have food, clothing and shelter,” store manager Barbara Phillips told Iron City Ink.
Sozo Trading also uses some of the donations it receives to help people in need in Avondale, according to Phillips.
The store is billed as “upscale” because of the quality of the donations, including furniture, designer clothes and unique household items, according to Phillips.
“We also offer new merchandise,” she said. “We keep our sales floor clean and organized. When you shop with us you will never have to dig through tables of clothes or bins of items.”
The store’s items made in Uganda include baskets, jewelry, nativities, ornaments, cloth animals and hand-carved wooden items.
Sozo’s other vendors offer such items as toys, antiques, jewelry, clothing and furniture.
The store also sells items from ministries in Haiti and India. “We also believe in helping others with their ministry,” Phillips said.
Avondale has been “a great location,” she said. “This area is reviving, and people that come down to eat wander in just to see what we are all about.”
Sozo’s customers on a recent Saturday – including Tara and Lee Parr, a couple from Crestwood – seemed to agree.
“It’s in a great area,” Lee Parr said. “We’re enjoying our coffee while we’re walking around, then we’ll have some lunch in Avondale.”
“We love it down here,” said Kimberly Corbin of Trussville, who was shopping with her daughter, Cameron. “We like Satellite and Saturn, and Post Office Pies is our favorite.”
Cameron also enjoys the shopping. “We find a lot of stuff,” she said. “One time, we found these glasses that my mom liked a lot, and we still get compliments on them.”
“It’s fun to treasure hunt,” Tara Parr said. “I always can find something in the clothing.”
Cameron also said she liked the store’s mission. “I like that it all comes back to the orphans,” she said.
For information, including store hours, call 703-0553 or go to sozotrading.org.