Thrift shop is a front for altruism

Linda Hogan-Estrada tries to greet every customer entering her South Laguna thrift and consignment store by saying, “Hi, welcome to Miles4Autism.”

The inspiration behind the shop’s name is the owner’s mission to earn enough money to open a facility in South Orange County where autistic children can interact and receive therapy.

“Sometimes they don’t know, but when they find out the cause, they say, ‘Oh, let me grab this and this,’” Hogan-Estrada said recently at the store, which opened a year ago March at 31678 S. Coast Hwy.

Hogan-Estrada’s 15-year-old son Miles was diagnosed with autism at age 2. She and her husband, Joe, know all too well the toll that therapy costs can take on a family’s budget.

Through the Laguna shop and her other store in San Juan Capistrano, Hogan-Estrada, who lives in San Clemente, is trying to eclipse the point of covering the bills and begin gathering enough funds to pay for five therapists to treat kids, for speech or social/behavioral disorders, at no cost to parents.

She hopes to open three more stores and has already established the nonprofit Miles4Autism, which will serve as the umbrella for her charitable mission.

The

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one out of 68 children by age 8 will have a disorder on the autism spectrum. Boys are four times more likely to have an autistic disorder than girls.

Miles has a therapist with him every day at San Clemente High School, but Hogan-Estrada has seen signs of her son’s independence.

“Most kids are highly intelligent and have a huge skill set if you find what it is,” Hogan-Estrada said. “As soon as they sense they are not being judged, they blossom.”

Hogan-Estrada, who works one day a week as a respiratory therapist, said she won’t know how close she is to starting the therapist fund until she completes her taxes. Her business goal is for each store to consistently generate $1,000 a day, she said.

The South Laguna store is like most thrift shops. It offers men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, ceramic Jell-O molds, miniature wine glasses, candleholders, shoes, paintings and DVDs.

On Tuesday, Huntington Beach resident Aileen Perry browsed for dishes. She has bought tea cups and saucers and a set of champagne glasses for a wedding from Hogan-Estrada’s store.

“There are always new things to see,” Perry said. “[Items] are not overpriced.”

Plus, Perry said, there is the added benefit of supporting a cause.

“It’s great what [Hogan-Estrada] is doing. It helps them and me at the same time,” the shopper said.

Hogan-Estrada takes in pretty much anything to sell except televisions. Electronic items tend to sit on the shelves because there is no guarantee they will work, she said.

Last year someone donated an off-road Jeep, and Hogan-Estrada sold it for $4,000.

Inside the store, Hogan-Estrada answered a call and then scurried to the counter to help a customer with a purchase.

A woman asked if Hogan-Estrada had an ice cooler. They went in the back.

“I’ll give it to you for $6,” the shop owner said.

Despite the apparent bustle, there is room to grow, she said.

“We are new, not well known,” she said. “We need to get popular.”

The South Laguna store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. For more information, visit miles4autism.org.