Donate Your Gently-used Clothes and Change a Life

Thrift store worker stands behind cash register and hands bag of clothes to male customoer
by SalvationArmy.ca
Categories: Articles, Feature, Mobile, Newswire
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Many of us have no idea what it is like to live in poverty. We never stop to think about the child who wears oversized hand-me downs or the adult who has one pair of shoes to wear. If you want to help someone who is struggling feel better about themselves and take pride in how they look, then there is no better time than spring to clean out your closets and donate to a Salvation Army Thrift Store.

“Your gently-used clothing or new items can help someone find acceptance and belonging,” says Lynda Reid, manager of The Salvation Army’s Thrift Store in Peterborough, Ont. “And restore something many people have lost―dignity.”

"Your gently-used clothing or new items can help someone find acceptance and belonging"

Reid recalls the day when one young lady came through the doors in tears. “Can I give you a dollar and get a skirt?” she asked Reid. “That’s all I have right now and I don’t have suitable clothes for my job placement.” Reid told her to pick out what she needed and the young lady left with a smile and the confidence needed to make a lasting impression at her job.

“The Thrift Store doesn’t exist solely to get items to help support our local Salvation Army community services,” says Reid. “It’s about making people feel valued, talking to people others don’t want to talk to, knowing peoples’ names, listening to their stories and walking alongside them during some very difficult journeys.”

Ptbo Thrift Store 2.web Reid says there are lonely people who visit daily just to talk. Other guests have been consoled through grief. Others have been encouraged amidst the anxiety of separation and divorce.

“The store is for everyone in any situation,” says Reid. “Sorting clothes and household items, and stocking shelves are only a portion of what we do.”