Old to new

When it comes to the newly-repurposed items at CROSS Ministries, it’s like finding a diamond in the rough.

Repurpose means to change something so that it can be used for a different purpose.

CROSS Ministries is using this tool to take old furniture and other materials and make them unique and new again.

“Some people think that, you know, when they bring something out, that it’s garbage or whatever,” said Cherrie Burk with CROSS Ministries. “This just shows what we can do with people’s donations. We wouldn’t be here without people’s donations. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this place is. That’s what we live on.”

What to look for

One example is an old hutch and table that has been fixed up and covered with newspapers dating back to the 1940s.

Another example is an old suitcase that has been updated and detailed with an old picture of a military regiment.

The items are flying off the shelves at CROSS Ministries.

“We can’t keep them … people are buying it faster than I can get it in here,” Burk said. “It’s really taken off and it’s just another way for the mission to make money and to make people happy.”

One goal of repurposing the materials is to still have them at affordable prices when a project is finished.

‘Oddball’ to coveted items

Burk mostly works with solid wood items. She said she likes to take “oddball” items that people wouldn’t want to buy and work with them to make them better.

It gives the items a chance for a second look.

The items and materials have all been donated, as well as the art supplies, brushes and paints. It’s not just the big furniture that’s needed at CROSS Ministries, it’s all of the types of supplies.

Burk said CROSS Ministries appreciates all of the donations, and people are welcome to help with any aspects of the repurposing.

Materials are gathered from different counties across the state of Iowa, but the average shopper would never know it. This is recycling at its finest — taking one man’s trash and making it another man’s treasure.

When it comes to giving back to the community, repurposed items have also been donated to local auctions and benefits to raise funds for a cause.

“That was my main point, it’s that how much we appreciate the community’s donations and their support,” Burk said.

Second chance

The next time a person is making a decision about trashing an item that still has some life left to it, remember CROSS Ministries and give it a second look.

“I think what I like is thinking about is that being in somebody’s house. That’s going to make them so happy,” Burk said. “It’s going to take the right person to want to buy it. But, you know, it’s like probably something that will be handed down for years to years when it could’ve been in the garbage.”