(From Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County)

Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County will recognize 15 years of ReStore serving the community with a celebration on Saturday, February 22 at 9 a.m. at the ReStore, 1200 Commerce Parkway, Findlay.

During the event Jerry Hawkins, considered the founder of ReStore in Findlay/Hancock County, will be honored posthumously with a special naming ceremony and gathering with family and friends. Hawkins served on the Habitat Board of Directors from 2008-2016 as the first ReStore Committee Chairman. He conducted extensive research to determine the viability of establishing a ReStore in the community and coordinated the funding and staffing that established ReStore’s first location on Tiffin Avenue in 2010. He then led the effort to expand into the first showroom for furniture sales in 2015.

“Jerry’s servant leadership was an example to all who worked with him,” explains Wendy McCormick, Habitat Executive Director. “He was a visionary for our ReStore and embodied loving your neighbor as yourself in all his community work and as a leader on our board. On Saturday we will be honoring his generosity, humble leadership and friendship.”

Following his service on the Board, Hawkins also served as a consultant to assist with the relocation of the Habitat offices and ReStore in 2019 to a Home of Our Own in the current location on Commerce Parkway. Habitat honored Hawkins for his transformative work with ReStore with its highest honor, the Paul Geyer Leadership Award, in 2016.

ReStore serves as an integral component for Habitat to serve its mission, with 40 percent of the affiliate’s income generated by ReStore revenue. ReStore’s inventory is provided by donations of used and new products from local individuals and businesses and sold to the public at discounted prices. ReStore offers free pick up for individual donations within Hancock County.

With the outpouring of community support of donated furniture, home goods and appliances, ReStore has grown exponentially during the past 15 years. Additionally, items donated and sold at ReStore have saved 3,895 tons of material from local landfills during the past 15 years.

For the past three years, ReStore has been named Findlay’s Best Thrift/Resell Store and in 2021 was named the Go Local Small Business Champion of the Year by the Findlay/Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.

This event is open to the public and is one of many scheduled events throughout the year celebrating Habitat for Humanity’s 25 years of impact in the Findlay/Hancock County community.