Newton Salvation Army reopens thrift store

The Newton Salvation Army was recently able to reopen its thrift store. The store had been closed due to COVID-19 restrictions but was able to welcome customers again May 8.

The staff was eager to reopen that facet of the Newton Salvation Army Captain Janelle Cleaveland said. After the governor lifted restrictions, members of community began to reach out to be sure the Newton store would be opening soon.

“We received probably about 10 to 15 calls a day from the community asking us when we were reopening to take donations,” Cleaveland said.

The store can allow people inside at half capacity, which equals about 25 people, a number that Cleaveland said they haven’t seen yet.

Even though the restrictions have been lifted, safety precautions have been put in place at the store. Staff are wearing gloves and masks and disinfecting the store regularly, among other measures.

“We are doing our best to keep it safe and healthy,” Cleaveland.

While the store is finally able to reopen Cleaveland said there has been an economic impact from the April closure. The Salvation Army lost more than $10,000 in income, funds the Salvation Army uses for programs.

“We kind of felt the financial strain ... It was time,” Cleaveland said.

The thrift store also started accepting donations again May 8 when it reopened. Cleaveland said they have been blessed with a lot of donations. Cleaveland said they are trying to get them out on the floor as fast as they can.

“We had the store completely cleaned out. All of the donations were gone through. So we are starting fresh with whatever people have been bringing since last Friday,” Cleaveland said.

During the shutdown, Cleaveland took advantage of the time to do a little rearranging to the thrift store layout.

“If they haven’t been back since we have been open it does look a lot different,” Cleaveland said.

During the pandemic, Cleaveland has seen some new faces at the Salvation Army in need of items from the food pantry. The part of the nonprofit had to operate differently during the virus. Staff had to place food items in donated grocery bags from Fareway and put them outside of the building for pickup. Cleaveland wasn’t sure if this method would undergo any changes yet.

“I think the economic impact of this will be long down the road,” Cleaveland said.

As more and more places begin to reopen throughout the state of Iowa, people will be able to go back to the stores and the places they frequented before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

“People have missed it. Some people just go to the thrift store to walk around and see what they find and they miss that socialization ... There is all different kinds of thrift store shoppers but they have all missed it and they have all voiced how happy they are that we are open,” Cleaveland said.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com