A grand re-opening is planned next week following big changes for the Salvation Army Thrift store, 520 Constitution St., as it restructures operations to help make up a $35,000 deficit in sales this year.
“We’re behind a lot,” said Capt. Jeremiah Burris of the Salvation Army. “We’re about $35,000 behind where we usually are this time of the year as far as sales go.”
Burris said the deficit is strictly at the thrift store.
“It has nothing to do with donations at the office ...” Burris said. “This is all strictly thrift store income from the thrift store sales.”
Burris said the Salvation Army’s fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.
“From Oct. 1, 2009, to July 1, 2010, we are behind where we normally should be,” he said. “We have to try different things.”
To mitigate the deficit, the Salvation Army is restructuring the thrift store. There are several things that will be changing including staff, Burris said. Other changes to the store include creating a better system to sort donations to get items on the floor to be sold in a more efficient manner, Burris said.
“That way there is something there for the community as well,” he said. “We will be providing a better service to the community.”
Lower prices also will be introduced in the store and a brand-new knickknack section will be set up in the store as well.
“We’re going to have permanent lower prices in glassware, silverware, pots and pans, lamp shades.” Burris said. “It’s going to be exciting. We’re trying to appreciate our donor who is donating the items, and we’re trying to have a better customer relationship with those who are shopping in the store.”
Donations are crucial to the store, Burris said.
“We need donations for it to flow,” Burris said. “It’s real important that we have the donations, and it’s important that they shop at the Salvation Army because all the money that is made goes into our services. The profit goes to the pantry, goes to paying bills, and we’re behind and it hurts services all together.”
The thrift store is open during the restructuring process.
“The inside was closed for just one day because we were moving stuff around,” Burris said. “It’s reopened but it’s not done.”
Next week Burris said the store will have a grand “re-opening.”
“We’ll have some giveaways and some sales,” he said. “We definitely will have food, hot dogs and chips and then some door prizes and mainly just low prices.”
The public is invited to the sale, which will be from 11 a.m. to close on Thursday.
“We invite them in to see the changes,” Burris said.
inaweoftheblindness (anonymous) says...
“We need donations for it to flow,” Burris said. “It’s real important that we have the donations. Hmmmm...I don't know why Mr. Burris hauled off truck loads of donations to the city dump. According to an employee still employed at the thrift sore, Burris ordered employees to haul all the donations in the back room and from the upstairs to the city dump. His orders were followed and I think it's sickening to know that from the huge amount of donations he/she stated were hauled to the dump, I can't understand why it wasn't just put out in free boxes for the needy families that needed it. Why couldn't Mr. Burris have set aside just one day for a free for all instead of disposing it all to the city dump. Pretty sad when there are so many needy families here in Emporia that could have put this stuff to god use. As for the changes being made to the store, I myself have to see it to believe it.
I no longer donate anything to this thrift store because 50% of the donations they throw in the dumpster outside. I have seen this too many times. Perfectly good items being tossed away. I will give Mr. Burris the benefit of the doubt this time, and visit the store for the new opening and changes, hopefully things will and have changed...if not..there are many other thrift stores in town to shop and donate at.
July 11, 2010 at 1:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Thank you inaweoftheblindness. I was about to question that same thing.
I used to donate to that store all the time but no more once I found out what they were doing to the donations. Much of it was being dumped, and huge bales of clothing were being stored up in the rafters of the back area. Those could have easily been sold to places that deal in rags. They pay by the pound.
Yes, good point. All that stuff hauled to the dump could have been put out as freebies to the many in town who could put it to good use.
I am very disappointed in the Salvation Army. When I retired from teaching, I gave lots of my work clothes to them. It was all in very good condition and I thought of some other woman starting out in a career and needing some decent conservative outfits for work. I even hauled it to them and carried it in to their back door where they quickly kicked it over to a pile of stuff that looked destined for the rag pile. My stuff did not belong there. That ended any future donation I will ever make to them and that includes cash.
So much for your donations to flow, Burris! Did you think the people in this town are blind? If you could throw it all away, then you didn't need it to begin with.
July 11, 2010 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )