The Community Thrift Store

It was Saturday April 30, 2011, the eve of the beatification of Pope John Paul II, that the all volunteer-staff opened the doors of the Community Thrift Store at Historic Holy Trinity to the public.  Opening day celebrations included free coffee, donuts and one free bag of clothes. 

 

Only open on Saturdays, it was known then as the Donation and Distribution Center and started as a "clothes closet" with men's, women's and children's clothing and shoes in the former playroom on the first floor of the school.   Patrons were able to come in and purchase a "bag of clothes" for $1, $5 or $10.  Within the first few months, we learned that the most popular size was the smallest bag for $1 so we began to offer only that option. 

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Family, friends, as well as the community, rallied around us and our mission to help those less fortunate.  Donations of clothes began to come in at a very fast pace.  One classroom quickly turned into two classrooms of clothes.  By years two and three, donations of household items, bedding, decorations of all seasons, furniture and small appliances were coming in by the carloads.  Before we knew it, four (4) classrooms on the first floor were opened:  the household items room, the kitchen, bedding and vintage room, mens and women's clothing in one room and children's clothing in the other; the hallway filled with furniture and jewelry.  By year 5, we launched the Christmas room on the 2nd floor.    

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As time went on, slight changes were made to the pricing concept, to the hours of operation and to the name.  What has consistently been the same is that those items a person needs on a regular basis (for example, clothing, bedding, dishes. etc.) remained affordable and accessible to everyone.  For example, clothes range from 50 cents to $2, shoes/sneakers - $2, coats - $5.  

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As 2020 began, the thrift store was doing extremely well, donations were coming in on a regular basis and our customer base continually growing.  Then March arrived (like a lion) and everything as we know it stopped.  While we were required to close the entire complex to the public, with the help of a few volunteers we used the "down time" to clean, reorganize each room and go through the many boxes of donations in our sorting room.  It was during this time that we realized we needed to find new sources of revenue.  When we were able to reopen the store, we add a second day starting July:  Wednesdays (10:00 am - 1:00 pm)  While the 2nd day was a start, with all of the unique items donated to us, we needed to find a creative way to bring the items to you.

 

That takes us to Fall 2020 and the start of "Heavenly Threads," our vintage online store.  All one-of-a-kind items, jewelry, electronics, pictures, record albums, vintage clothing and more can now be purchased from the comfort of your home and available for in-store and/or curbside pickup on Wednesdays and Saturdays between the hours of 10:00 am and 1:00 pm.  We are working on shipping options and hope to have that part of our store available in the coming months.

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All purchases made at the Community Thrift Store and through Heavenly Threads 716 support the upkeep and maintenance of Historic Holy Trinity, a State and National Landmark.  As a 100% volunteer-based and donation-based organization from its inception in 2008, your generosity helps us fulfill our mission and preserve the history of this 115 year complex.  

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Thank you and enjoy your shopping at Heavenly Threads 716!