HANDMAIDEN HOUSE VOLUNTEERS include, front row, l-r, Elizabeth Lewis, Marian Sallee, Christina Alicea and Tammy Fincannon; middle row, Marliyn Ricks, Sadie Scott and Brandy Brown; back row, Rhonda Keve, Gary Keve, Clay Brown and Rory Brown. Not pictured is Joy Hickey.
In just over one year of operating a thrift store, local women’s support ministry Handmaiden House is praising its team of volunteers and seeking more to join their ranks.
Brandy Brown, director, says with the support of volunteers they have been able to go from opening the store one day per week to two, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Brown says more volunteers would be helpful.
“We would like to have enough help to only ask them to work for us once a month during store hours,” she says.
Profits from the store, which is located at 401 First Ave. N.E., go to support the mission of Handmaiden House, which is to eventually establish a transitional home for women with or without children. Brown says they are already providing some services such as parenting and financial literacy classes and providing support for immediate needs such as clothing or finding safe housing.
The thrift store has such items for sale as kitchen cookware, furniture, electronics, jewelry, shoes, jackets, and other clothing items, according to Brown.
“We have a strict quality control process. We do take pride in what we have to sell and want people to come back,” Brown says.
