Community member Andi Andree says she loves shopping at Second Hand Rose and her favorite item is puzzles. She works on them with her grandkids and then donates them again when she comes back for more. Photo by Tamara Kaufman
Community member Andi Andree says she loves shopping at Second Hand Rose and her favorite item is puzzles. She works on them with her grandkids and then donates them again when she comes back for more. Photo by Tamara Kaufman
BINGEN — Use it or lose it.
That may happen if business and volunteerism don’t pick up at the Second Hand Rose thrift store in Bingen.
“Second Hand Rose has been a fixture in the Bingen community,” said Leslie Naramore, Washington Gorge Action Program (WAGAP) executive director. “But it has been on life support for nearly three years now.”
Store clerk Rachel Johnson adds new items to the clothing racks. Photo by Tamara Kaufman
Naramore said the program has barely survived and used grant funding to keep the doors open.
The store is part of the WAGAP network of Community Action programs. In addition to offering quality, gently used, clean clothing, furniture, and household items at a value, it has long been a hub of multicultural activity with a strong bi-lingual presence at the location.
The store serves several vital functions throughout Klickitat and Skamania counties. Families obtain essential items while having a dignified shopping experience. Those in need can receive vouchers for $20 per family member and up to $80 for the entire family. They can use this credit to purchase things such as clothing, shoes, kitchen appliances, and more.
In partnership with People for People, a local employment and training program, Second Hand Rose has also served as a job training site. Local people looking to get back into the workforce or wanting to develop their business and management skills have had opportunities to get a fresh start.
The pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the store’s success. Shoppers have shifted away from in-person to online shopping. People for People has no applicants available to fill the shop’s positions. Volunteers, essential to keep the store open and stocked, have disappeared and have not returned.
Second Hand Rose is full of quality essential items and a few fun things too. Photo by Tamara Kaufman
The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with paid staff onsite. Volunteers are key to helping to receive and sort donations before items are stocked on shelves.
Limited floor space is an issue as WAGAP needs a separate warehouse for inventory. Staff and volunteers must be selective in what they can accept for donation. Programs such as The Arc, which used to come to the Gorge from the Portland Metropolitan area to pick up unwanted clothing, no longer come to the area.
Second Hand Rose fills a need with shoes and clothing both for sale and available for families in need. Photo by Tamara Kaufman
Not surprisingly, closures during the pandemic affected the bottom line. In 2019 the store was on an upswing and turned a profit, allowing WAGAP to reinvest in the program. Then COVID-19 hit. Sales plummeted and have yet to rebound.
Additionally, WAGAP has experienced tremendous growth in other programs since 2019 and needs room to accommodate new employees. The board is reviewing the use of space at the Bingen offices to decide how to reconfigure them. Utilizing the thrift store’s area is on the table as a potential solution.
The board of directors has instructed the staff to redirect energy toward promoting the use of Second Hand Rose and re-establishing a dedicated volunteer team to keep the space running smoothly. It is giving the team six months to see if it can get the store back on track to be sustainable, and it will re-evaluate the situation at the end of June 2023.
WAGAP encourages community members interested in volunteering to go to www.wagap.org/volunteer or call the main office at 509-493-2662.
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