On March 22, 2022, Timothy Christian Schools sold the New to You building, name, and all equipment and contents to the Bright Promise Fund. Whereas the revenue profits from New to You had historically benefited three or four Christian schools, it will now benefit fourteen Christian schools in the Chicagoland area! These schools include Calvary Academy, Cambridge Classical Academy, Calvin Christian School, Chicago West Side Christian School, Cornerstone Academy, Daystar Academy, The Field School, Lansing Christian School, Midwestern Christian Academy, New Life Academy, New Life Celebration Christian Academy, Pui Tak Christian School, Southwest Chicago Christian School, and Unity Christian Academy. This is an exciting development since so many different schools will now benefit from the efforts of the New to You Store, its employees and volunteers.

Bright Promise Executive Director, Steve Blom, offered the following reflections:

Bright Promise is grateful for the opportunity to partner with New To You in continuing this good work.

New To You will deeply impact our mission to strengthen our 14 partner schools in Chicago area neighborhoods by increasing access through scholarships, supporting leadership development and collaboration, and being a catalyst for growth so more families may experience a high quality, Christ-centered education.

None of this is possible without a community of people committed to this shared task.

We are thankful to the Timothy Christian School community for making this opportunity available to Bright Promise.

The financial and social capital produced by New To You will have a certain and immediate impact on the lives of thousands of students in communities in which education options are often fleeting.

Our prayer is that God will continue this good work, that we will steward this gift well and that more students will grow knowing their identity and purpose in Christ, for his Kingdom!

Since the building was donated to Timothy Christian Schools in 2004, New to You has generated over $3,500,000 in net revenue that has been shared with Daystar Academy, Humboldt Christian School (until its closing in 2017), Chicago West Side Christian School, and Timothy Christian Schools. These are amazing results that we will always be thankful for.  We so much appreciate the vision of those who started this store and the anonymous donors who desired to help these four Christian schools advance for God’s glory and for His kingdom.  Now helping ten more schools fits in very well with this original vision and the hearts of our donors and volunteers.

As Timothy Superintendent Matt Davidson continues to emphasize – we want both stores, New to You and Jubilee in Lombard, to succeed and thrive for the benefit of 15 Christian Schools across Chicagoland.

The leadership of Timothy Christian Schools is also pleased that the Broadview community will continue to be blessed by the presence of this store.  As Steve Blom noted, “The New to You store is a valued stakeholder in the community of Broadview with a great reputation.”  Even though the ownership has changed, the store will look and feel the same.  Many of the employees that currently work at New to You will continue in their current capacity along with most of the volunteers.  This is also a tremendous blessing and a key reason why this transaction and change works for all involved. This community was important to all involved at the start-up of this store and is important to us now.

Providentially, and simultaneously, another opportunity was presented to us to be a part of a Joint Venture with Outreach Community Ministries (OCM). This is also a very exciting development for our school.  Outreach Community Ministries currently operates a successful furniture resale store in Carol Stream called Jubilee Furniture. Chris Ellerman, retired OCM CEO and current General Manager of its Social Enterprises division, and Timothy’s  leadership team had a vision for combining OCM’s expertise in furniture with Timothy’s expertise in resale items along with its strong volunteer base in the western suburbs.  This makes for a formidable partnership that will greatly benefit Timothy students and support OCM’s new student and family ministry at the York Community Resource Center in Villa Park. OCM’s vision statement aligns very well with ours:

Outreach and its partner churches are dedicated to putting this mission into action by providing a full range of charitable, human service, educational, religious and community development activities. These activities help people realize their God-given potential as uniquely gifted individuals in their family, community, and relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The new store will be called Jubilee Furniture & Resale Store in Lombard and we are planning for its grand opening in July 2022.  Jubilee -Lombard is located at 240 E. Roosevelt Road, Lombard, IL.  This is commonly referred to as the La-Z-Boy building/store.  This is a 24,000 sq. ft. building with ample parking and loading docks. OCM will take the lead as General Manager for the store and oversee the finances and facility. Timothy will take the lead to develop the volunteer teams and donor community.  OCM and Timothy will each have a 50% share in the costs and lease agreement as well as revenues generated at this store. This is a great opportunity for our school to increase the level of support for all of our students and families.

As Timothy Superintendent Matt Davidson continues to emphasize — we want both stores, New to You and Jubilee in Lombard, to succeed and thrive for the benefit of 15 Christian Schools across Chicagoland. This is a win all the way around! Of course, we also desire to see OCM and the York Community Resource Center benefit for years to come.  There will be plenty of opportunities to donate items and to volunteer at both stores. For some it works better to bring items to New to You and for some it works better to bring items to Jubilee in Lombard. The same is true of volunteers.

It would be nearly impossible to name every person who has ever helped or volunteered at New to You since 2004.  Please accept our sincere thanks and appreciation to the hundreds of people who have donated, volunteered, or served as a driver, employee, or Board Member.  We would humbly ask and would appreciate your prayers for both of these ventures and to give God thanks and praise for these opportunities.  To God be the Glory!

If you are interested in volunteering  or have further questions please reach out to Timothy Advancement Director, Bob Venhousen at venhousen@timothychristian.com or Advancement Services Manager, Ann Oglevee at
oglevee@timothychristian.com