Willing Hearts Reaches Milestone: $1M Donated to Charity

A local consignment shop hit the $1 million mark in sales, all of which was invested in making West Essex and the world a better place.

Sitting in the rear of Willing Hearts above glass cases filled with watches, jewelry and all sorts of tchotchkes, is a large faux check made out from the consignment shop for $1 million that is to be paid to the order of the Rotary Club of the Caldwells.

It took the second-time-around store 16 years to reach the $1 million milestone on June 25. When asked by other donation centers about how Willing Hearts raises so much money, director and founder Pat Kiernan said the trick is that it’s a consignment shop.

“People that consign are addicted,” said Kiernan, a longtime resident of Verona, with a laugh on Thursday. Consignment stores attract everyone: from the very poor to the well-to-do. “They all buy.”

When Willing Hearts opened in 1997, Kiernan said she already had a strong following. For six years, Kiernan ran a consignment shop called Smull Treasures located on Smull Avenue, which raised funds for family and children services in Essex County.

Willing Hearts moved into its current location at 491 Bloomfield Ave. in 2003. 

Today, the store has nearly everything someone would need to fill a new home. There are everyday items, such as bowls, pans, silverware, books and lemonade pitchers, and there is always a bevy of women’s clothing.

But you never know what you may find on its shelves from week to week. In addition to kitchen gadgets, sports gear and cameras, people are surprised to occasionally see designer products from the likes of Prada and Michael Kors, said Kiernan. 

Susan McIntosh, who has been volunteering at Willing Hearts since it first opened, said the store not only helps those who shop there, but also the volunteers who work there.

“It’s unbelievable,” said McIntosh. “We help so many people. … But not just are we helping the people that buy stuff here and the money that is going to these charities, we are also helping the people who work here as well,” from teenagers to people in their 90s.

Nearly 90 percent of the money raised at Willing Hearts went to the Rotary Club. In West Essex, the Rotary Club has used the donations to fund student scholarships, the West Essex First Aid Squad, and purchase playground equipment, among other things. The funds are also used for international Rotary Club projects.

The rest of the funds go into the nonprofit Willing Hearts Inc., which Kiernan called “our little bank account.” The money is used to solve issues and problems that arise in West Essex, such as helping families who lose their homes to fire.

It’s been less than a month since Willing Hearts reached $1 million in sales for the Rotary Club, but Kiernan said she and the volunteers are already looking forward to reaching $2 million.