Salvation Army reopening thrift store

After eight months of being closed, the Salvation Army Thrift Store will be reopening its doors May 17.

"It's going to be very clean, very fresh and it's going to be very well organized and well stocked," said Capt. Jonathan Harvey, general secretary of Salvation Army's Northwestern Division in Seattle. "Those are really the key elements that we are looking for in our stores, is having them clean and fresh, well-organized and fully stocked."

He said that the Salvation Army will also be taking donations again, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations can be dropped off in the back of the building. He added that people should donate within the hours the store is open, to prevent what is being donated being ruined or damaged.

The Salvation Army is a non-profit organization that raises a large portion of its funding for community programs through the thrift stores.

Previously, the store was very run-down, he said, and was not generating any net resources to help support the Salvation Army's programs.

"It was actually costing us money to keep it open, and that just completely defies the object of having this retail store here available," Harvey added.

He said that the organizational structure of the store is much different from before, now being a community volunteer-based operation. In addition to repainting, reorganizing, replacing lighting and the flooring, the Salvation Army hired Carissa Minnick as the volunteer coordinator. Minnick has one of the two paid position in reorganized thrift store, Harvey said, adding that the rest of the people working in the store will be volunteers.

"So, very much a local feel to the store," he said. "... Our hope is to have as many volunteers as we can muster."

He said that he would like to have four to six people at the store, depend of the volunteer's availability. They are looking for people and groups who want to volunteer with the only requirement a willingness to serve the community.

Volunteers can be teenagers through senior citizens.

Volunteering is an opportunity for the community to really be a part of the store and making it not just a place to shop but a place to actually give back, Harvey said.

Minnick said that she also wants to encourage people to volunteer and "do what we can for the community."

People who are interested in volunteering can contact the main office, which will be coordinating and processing volunteer requests, at 208-413-6183 or visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyUSA/.

In addition to remodeling the store, the renovations gives new opportunities for shoppers, Harvey said. The thrift store will now be stocking brand-new furniture. He said that the Salvation Army is work with Emerald Home Furnishing to supply new items on display in the store, such as new beds and living room furniture. The store will also have a catalogue with items people will be able to look through and order items from, with all the items being from Emerald Home Furnishing.

He added that because of Havre's locations orders, will be put into master orders for the store, which could result in deliveries taking longer.

"The other stores we have introduced that in, it has been a great addition to the store," he said.