VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A thrift shop with a unique mission has just opened in Virginia Beach.
It’s called S.O.S. Thrift Store, and it’s located at 3517 Virginia Beach Boulevard next to Dunkin.
The owner, Suzanne Fall, says it will assist the Virginia Beach Education Foundation with their fundraising efforts and provide financial resources for teacher grants and other programs.
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Fall has been in the estate liquidation business for more than 20 years.
"I volunteered as a room mom, raised money doing sales and art auctions for schools my children have attended,” Fall explained. "So my children are out of public school, and I thought this would be a great way for me to continue to try to support local, public schools by doing this."
The money the store brings in from the sale of donated items will assist the VBEF with their grant program as well as the Beach Bags food program. Kevin Hill, President of VBEF says they distributed more than 41,000 bags to families in need last year.
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“It’s a very expensive initiative and there are a lot of families in need,” said Hill. “So if we’re able to expand our revenues as a program and provide more value to beach bags, I think that’s a win-win for the community.”
As for the grants, Hill says they awarded more than $234,000 for educational purposes.
“It was an all-time high for us, and it was also a record high in the amount of applicants we received,” Hill said. "So we’re really excited for the opportunity to partner with the thrift store as we can expand that program."
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S.O.S. Thrift Store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except on Mondays.
In addition to drawing in shoppers, they also hope residents will consider making a tax-deductible donation of gently-used items.
For more information, click here.
