For Immediate Release:
Beginning Tuesday, June 4th with a grand opening event scheduled from 10am until noon, a new 16,000 square ft. thrift store filled with clothing and soft goods, furniture and small appliances, athletic gear, household items, collectibles, and much more await shoppers at 7392 Market St. near the Southern Park Mall. The new Thrift Store and Donation Center operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council, Inc. promises to round out the mission of the Mahoning Valley based chapter of the international organization boasting nearly 100,000 volunteers around the globe. Attendees for the grand opening event include Bishop David Bonnar, Bishop of Youngstown, as well as members of the board of directors for St. Vincent de Paul, shoppers and staff.
The new thrift store will begin regular operations on Tuesday, June 4th with the kickoff event and continue to operate 7 days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10am until 8pm and Sundays from noon until 5pm. Purchases at the store directly support the charitable work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council, Inc., including the Dining Hall, Food Pantry, and Outreach Ministry.
Says Executive Director Alan Ricks, “The financial impact of purchases made at the store on food and clothing distributions to folks in need feels obvious. But having experience in prison ministry, I also see affordable household items and soft goods as an opportunity to help rehabilitated individuals reestablish a life outside the system.”
District President Anne Kravitz agrees. “We need to ease the burden of anyone who has less. St Vincent really is a village. The cooperation between volunteers, donors, and our guests is evident in this store. There is something here that money cannot buy, and we’re grateful to everyone who walks through these doors, helping to put the mission of St. Vincent de Paul into action.”
The response from the community has been so strong, the store is currently fully stocked, and donations have been temporarily suspended. An announcement will follow alerting the community when donations can resume.
“We’re so eager to open these doors!” remarked Gary Winslow, Director of Store Operations.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council, Inc. is ecstatic to welcome back a thrift store component to its mixture of ministries aimed at providing for everyone who has less in the community. Purchases, affordable goods, and an attitude of charity are crafted into each of the 16,000 square feet of the new store at 7392 Market St., and the staff are eager to show it off at the June 4th grand opening and every day after.
About the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council, Inc.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Mahoning District Council, Inc. has operated in the Mahoning Valley since 1931, and the Catholic, lay-led non-profit is comprised on both paid staff and volunteers, working together to maintain a dining hall, food pantry, and several annual outreach events. The donation center can be reached at 330-781-5181.
Founded in 1833, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide organization serving neighbors in need. Our founding activity, still practiced today, is the face-to-face Home Visit, in which Vincentian volunteers visit the homes of those they serve, to identify both immediate and longer-term needs. The National Council of the United States, Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established to organize and represent local SVdP Conferences and Councils, providing resources, training, and spiritual development for nearly 100,000 Vincentian volunteers across the country.