History

The Green Door began on April 13, 1953. The Women's Auxiliary of St. Luke's Episcopal Church opened a thrift shop at 1813 Nacogdoches Rd. in a rented space with 10 volunteers. Most of the items were donated, and sales on the very first day were $500! Profits the first year were $3,000 and rose to $5,000 the next year. $500 is a decent day's sales even by 2012 standards. $500 in 1953 would be worth $4,028.67 in 2010 dollars. That would be a very busy day at the Green Door! This initial money was used to construct a building for the Green Door. The present building was completed in 1958 at 1030 Nacogdoches Rd., and was expanded in 1965 to its current size.

The Green Door has been burglarized twice, in 1966 and 1992, and set on fire on both occasions. The fires destroyed all our historical documentation but we received a surprise gift about 8 years ago. A lady found some clippings and old photographs, and brought them to the shop. We hope to get those scanned in and on this page soon.

In 1970 the Green Door property was deeded to the church. There have been several offers to purchase the Green Door property, but the Vestry has refused them in order for us to continue our important ministry.

The Green Door is many ministries layered on top of one another. The Green Door provides clothing and housewares to our community at a low cost. All donated items that cannot be sold are given to other organizations with a broader clientele & these organizations are able sell most of the items that we cannot sell. Some of our consignors depend on the income from their sales at the Green Door. And finally, our volunteers benefit from the mutual support we give one another at the Green Door.

We thank God for the many blessings of the Green Door ministry.