SHERMAN OAKS : Upscale Shops’ Profits Go to Cancer Society

Call it 100% guilt-free shopping.

The Discovery Shops, a chain of upscale boutiques found across the United States, offers designer label products such as Giorgio Armani and Christian Dior at one-third to as low as one-quarter of their retail costs.

And it’s all for charity.

The designer clothes and other items are donated, mostly by individuals. The profits go directly to the Discovery Shops’ corporate head: the American Cancer Society.

“This is not a thrift store,” said Jeri Benson manager of the Sherman Oaks Discovery Shop, a veteran of the clothing industry who said she has found her calling.

“I think this is the greatest job that I could have,” Benson said. “I go home feeling so great.”

The Discovery Shops were established 30 years ago and has about 50 boutiques nationwide. Because all the items sold are donated and the stores are staffed by volunteers, all the money made goes to cancer research.

The merchandise that is sold at the shops is usually brought by hand to individual stores and the staff sorts through to find the best items.

“We’ll go through 10 to 20 bags of clothes and maybe come up with 15 items,” Benson said. The rest goes to the Salvation Army. “So it’s a win-win situation.”

Brenda Poston-Schaeffer, a self-described regular at the boutique, said of the store as she tried on a three-piece Ann Taylor suit, “It’s a nice place to shop . . . It’s always a pleasure.”

Many of the shop’s customers are affected by cancer, said Benson.

“Some people come in every day,” she said. “They come to talk, and it makes them feel so good when they know their money is going to help their mother or their son and not going to commission.”

In addition to raising money for the American Cancer Society, the Discovery Shops staffers are all well-versed in recent cancer prevention tips and can give advice on how to deal with the disease.

With a purchase at the Sherman Oaks boutique, for instance, the staff person there will also provide the customer with brochures on how to conduct a self-breast examination or a guide for teachers on how to work with a student who has cancer.