This browser does not support the Video element.
Twin Cities thrift store in need of donations
A thrift store in St. Anthony is running low on clothes to sell due to a shortage of donations. FOX 9's Maury Glover has more.
ST. ANTHONY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Hidden Treasures thrift store is facing an unusual challenge as donations have slowed to a trickle.
Donation shortage impacts store operations
What we know:
Hidden Treasures in St. Anthony has been a community staple for nearly 20 years, relying on donations to stock its shelves. Recently, the store posted on social media that it has run out of donations to price and display.
Interim General Manager Jeff Sprinkel said the store's processing room, usually filled with donations, is now nearly empty.
"If we don't get donations, yeah, our ministry stops here," said Sprinkel. "We won't have any stuff to sell on the floor. We'll start closing down. I'll probably have to be laying off employees or cutting back hours, things like that."
Mission to help employees
The backstory:
The store's mission is to provide employment opportunities for its 32 employees who are in recovery or have recently been incarcerated.
Sprinkel noted that January and February are typically slow for donations, but this year is particularly challenging.
"It mainly has to do with the weather. People just aren't cleaning out their houses and cleaning out the garages and doing stuff," said Sprinkel.
Mother Nature to the rescue?
What they're saying:
Sprinkel is hopeful that the spring-like weather will encourage more people to donate. "I'm hoping that we get an influx of donations that come in here so that we can have more of our employees engaged in putting the prices on them, getting them out onto the floor," said Sprinkel.
Dig deeper:
Hidden Treasures accepts donations from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.