Drop Inn Ministries expanding in Iowa

Another resale store linked to a Northern Ireland-based ministry has opened in the Corridor.

Drop Inn Iowa City, which sells gently-used clothing and household goods, opened in April at the Iowa City Marketplace, formerly known as Sycamore Mall. It is part of the Drop Inn Ministries network, which Ronnie Dawson launched in 1994 to reach out to young people and promote humanitarian aid.

The Iowa City store joins its sister store in Cedar Rapids, which Dawson's son-in-law, David McBride, opened in 2012 with help from Cedar Rapids Family Church.

Marv Feigenspan, who joined with HighPoint City Church to open the Iowa City store, said 60 percent of its profits will be donated to area charities, while the other 40 percent will go toward international projects, such as the construction of a medical clinic in the west African nation of Burkina Faso.

'The reason we started Drop Inn was to extend true compassion to a people who are not in position to help themselves,” Feigenspan said. 'We believe that we can do more than what we've done to help people. We want to empower people to reach their full potential.”

Local volunteers staff the store, which was funded with part of HighPoint City Church's mission budget and nearly $30,000 worth of donated work from local contractors.

Among the charities that Feigenspan plans to donate to are Safe Families for children, IC Compassion and Retrograde Ministries.

Not all of the profits are yet going to charities, because startup costs are still being paid off. But Feigenspan said there was an effort to donate some of the first month's $1,600 profit.

'People say, ‘I want to be involved with this,'” Feigenspan said. 'They bring a picture, they bring a table, they bring a pair of shoes, some clothes. It's community helping community.”