The Good Samaritan Super Thrift Shop
1636 N Church Street. Burlington, North Carolina 27217
General Overview
The Good Samaritan Super Thrift is a small local consignment store located in Burlington North Carolina. Thrift shops are shops that sell secondhand goods, such as clothes, often to benefit a charity. This thrift shop was founded as a ministry of the Piedmont Rescue Mission Inc. The store accepts donations of "usable" items ranging from furniture to clothing to household appliances. The store employs men who have had an issue with substance abuse and are residents of the Piedmont Rescue Mission.
The Piedmont Rescue Mission Inc.
The Piedmont Rescue Mission was founded under a different name in 1982 when Reverend Ernie Mills decided that there needed to be a residential substance abuse program in the greater Alamance area. In 1988, after Reverend Robert Jones was named Executive Director along with his wife as Administrative Assistant, the Piedmont Rescue Mision Inc. was established. However, it was not until 1992, after their filing for independent non-profit status had been fully processed that the incorporation was "officially" established. The organization is known to be extremely religious, with the mission statement: "The goal of Piedmont Rescue Mission is to lead those who will come to Christ because, through him, true change takes place. We proclaim the gospel message and teach the Christian walk in a controlled, Christian family atmosphere." Furthermore the Piedmont Rescue Mission prides themselves in "providing a hand up, not a hand out."
As soon as the organization gained traction it received an overwhelming amount of donations and in 1998 they decided that they had the funds to open a thrift store that would provide a drug-free place to train for real world jobs for recovering addicts. The workers at the thrift store are encouraged to rotate which particular jobs they do in order to gain an idea of what they might like to do for a career after their stint with the residential substance abuse program is complete. In addition to providing jobs for recovering addicts, the shop provides the community with a cheap and affordable place to shop, or to donate there old items that they no longer wanted. From 1992 onwards the organization grew immensely and expanded its operations to multiple locations, while keeping just one thrift shop. In 2007, long time director of the Piedmont Rescue Mission stepped down along with his wife, he was replaced by Brother Tony Honeycutt. The Piedmont Rescue Mission expanding to include other organizations, The Good Samaritan Super Thrift shop has been given its own director. The current director is Richard Faucette, who runs the the program with his wife Diana. The manager of the store is Steven Wilson.
The GSST
The Good Samaritan Super Thrift (GSST) has done a lot of good in the town of Burlington over the past several decades and has become a recognized strong contributor to the community. The thrift shop is a wonderful place to find great deals or to get rid of your old items that you no longer need. Customers are generally very pleased with their experiences in the store. Exuberant community members have given rave reviews such as: "This was THE BEST thrift store that I've ever been to!" and "I have only good things to say about this thrift store. The workers are polite, prices are great, they are organized with the merchandise." The shop, located on North Church Street, will no doubt be thriving for years to come with the strong support of the surrounding community.
Currently, they are collecting non-perishable foods, coats and socks to give to their clients. They will be giving them out on Christmas, so there is still time to donate!
Finding GSST and the Piedmont Rescue Mission Online
If you are still curious about the GSST after reading this extremely informative wiki article, be sure to find them on facebook, and if you would like to learn more about the shop and/or the Piedmont Rescue Mission go to: www.piedmontrescuemission.org. If you find something that was not mentioned above or know any extra information, be sure to add it to the article to help make this local wiki as good as it can be!
Sources:
http://local.yahoo.com/info-13041884-good-samaritan-super-thrift-burlington
http://www.piedmontrescuemission.org/index.htm
http://www.yelp.com/biz/good-samaritan-super-thrift-burlington
