The volunteer staff of a philanthropic Ellijay thrift store hopes to soon welcome customers back to shop, although an official reopening date has not been determined.
The Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store has been closed since late March and donations of items from the general public have been on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The opening date is not set. Hopefully (it will be) May 20,” said Faith, Hope and Charity board chairman Cheryl Worley, adding that more details about reopening should be known after a board meeting this week.
Some steps toward reopening the recycle store, the primary fundraising outlet for FHC’s community benevolence office, were taken last week. One of those was starting to accept drop-off donations from the public one day a week.
Prior to the public health crisis, donations were accepted at the Industrial Boulevard store Monday-Saturday.
“We had one (donation day) this past Thursday and if the weather permits, we will try again next Thursday,” said Worley last week.
“Donations will not be sorted into the store until we hold them for the required amount of time to prevent any possible spread of the virus. We appreciate and thank everyone for their patience and for holding their donations during this strange time,” she added.
Worley noted that future donation days will be announced on the store’s Facebook page.
“FHC is implanting several precautions to insure that, when the store does reopen, shoppers and volunteers will remain safe and healthy. We have federal and state guidelines to follow when we reopen. These are for everyone’s safety,” she added.
One of those safety precautions was also accomplished last week when two new sneeze guards were installed at the store’s checkout area, noted Tom Rippy, FHC business manager.
The protective plastic guards, which have quickly become standard at many retail stores, were installed by employees of the East Ellijay Lowe’s, he added.
“This will help us meet federal and state sanitary guidelines so we can open as soon as possible. Since we are all in this together, Lowe’s jumped at the opportunity to help us get back in the business of helping those in need,” Rippy said.
Despite being closed for more than a month, the nonprofit has still been able to accomplish its civic outreach mission, noted Rippy.
“Even though we have been hurt by the virus, we’ve met our obligations to the community with grants and benevolence contributions to those in need,” he said.
Inquiries about receiving emergency benevolence assistance are still being handled by phone. The Faith, Hope and Charity benevolence office can be reached at 706-635-3045. Messages can be left and calls will be returned.