Photo By Jennifer James | FORT RILEY, Kan. – Shoppers lined up outside the Fort Riley Thrift Shop for the...... read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kan. - The revamped Fort Riley Thrift Shop was celebrated on its first anniversary Mar. 18 with face painting, special sales, snacks and sparkling beverages.
The Fort Riley Spouses’ Club members and volunteers operate the thrift shop.
Autumn McGuffey, co-founder and operations manager for the thrift shop started working on the project in March 2022 and the doors opened Mar. 18, 2023.
“It’s definitely been an adventure,” McGuffey said.
In 12 months of operation, the Fort Riley Thrift Shop has contributed to the community through numerous projects including donating more than 3,000 toys to Operation Santa Claus and Operation Homefront, hosting an Angel Tree for military families and one for veterans, handing out $2,000 worth of food and non-perishable items through the Blessing Bags program, raising more than $3,000 for the Fort Riley Spouses’ Club Charity of the Month program and more. In April, they will be giving out more than $20,000 in community grants and scholarships.
The Thrift Shop is also there in times of emergencies. Proceeds from sales and donations have been able to provide clothing and household items to three military families who have been victims of fires during the past year.
McGuffey attributes the success of the thrift shop to the support from the community.
“Everything is through donations, and we’ve got maybe 30 people that are usual customers, plus others who come in to check out what we have,” she said. “I have days where we’re open for two hours and we still do amazing. We are completely volunteer run.”
“I love that the store is very organized and clean,” Asia Sampson, a Fort Riley Thrift Shop regular said. “Usually, at most thrift stores, I find myself sorting through stuff instead of actually finding anything good. I don’t have that problem here. Also, prices are great, we always find amazing quality clothes, good quality for low prices, especially for the kids. I’ve found multiple sports jerseys for my son and brand-new clothes with tags for my daughter. The volunteers are always cheerful and kind.”
The Fort Riley Thrift Shop address is 222 Custer Ave and the schedule for shopping and donation days can be found on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/860061695358785.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2024 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 467825 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Volunteers, patrons celebrate a year of thrift shop success, by Jennifer James, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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