CARRBORO- Monday’s grand opening of Carrboro’s expanded PTA Thrift Shop is an event nearly four years in the making. Executive Director Barbara Jessie-Black says the new store will have more of what shoppers love, along with a few surprises.

“The cool thing for customers will be we have a special section that we’ll call the PTA Gadget Galaxy where we have electronics and computers set up in the same configuration as the Apple Genius Bar,” says Jessie-Black. “We’ll have our own PTA Thrift Shop Gadget Galaxy, which is new for us.”

The “Gadget Galaxy” will have staffers on hand to help customers pick out computers and other electronic goods and will offer repair services in the near future.

The expanded location includes 14,000 square feet of retail space and an additional 13,000 square feet of space that will house the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Pre-K and Head Start offices.

Most importantly, Jessie-Black says the new and improved thrift store will translate into more money for local schools.

“There was no room for growth, which meant that every time a new school came into the district, that large pot of money got smaller for each school,” says Jessie-Black. “That’s really the reason why we created this larger building and why we added the lease space to the equation.”

The expansion has been in the works since 2009. Jessie-Black says she’s thankful that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community came together to make it a reality.

“The community has been so supportive from the beginning. People have been very supportive and very excited about what’s getting ready to happen,” says Jessie-Black. “We couldn’t have done this big project without the community.”

The grand opening takes place Monday morning at 8:30 at the Carrboro PTA on Jones Ferry Road. The store will begin accepting donations in Mid-December.

Related Stories
‹
CommunityWorx, Formerly PTA Thrift Shop, Facing Foreclosure in Carrboro
CommunityWorx, a nonprofit known for its thrift shop, announced Monday it's facing foreclosure at its 117 and 125 West Main Street buildings.
CommunityWorx Thrift Store Back Open in Chapel Hill
A longtime community staple, the CommunityWorx thrift store, reopened its doors in Chapel Hill recently after being closed for months due to the pandemic. President and CEO of CommunityWorx Barbara Jessie-Black spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about how the reopening process has gone and what kind of changes people should expect. Formerly known […]
CommunityWorx Launches Rebranding of Store and Website
Two months after announcing its new name to the public, CommunityWorx officially completed its rebranding with a launch ceremony on Friday. Board members, staff and representatives from the local chamber of commerce cut a ribbon to formally announce the rebranding of the long-time PTA Thrift Shop. The celebration inside the YouthWorx on Main building, adjacent […]
Leaders Explain Process of Rebranding Former PTA Thrift Shop
At the annual State of the Community Report in Carrboro last week, the PTA Thrift Shop revealed its new name. As the non-profit transitions its branding to CommunityWorx, its leaders are sharing what led them to the changes. The steps toward rebranding began in June of 2018, when the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools PTA council […]
Chapel Hill - Carrboro PTA Thrift Shop Announces Name Change
The Chapel Hill – Carrboro PTA Thrift Shop has announced, beginning November 15, the non-profit will change its name to CommunityWorx. The name of the thrift shop has been under scrutiny in recent years as local PTAs, with the help of the national PTA organization, have been pushing for the name change. The PTAs argued […]
Chapel Hill-Carrboro PTA Thrift Shops Will Change Name This Year
The PTA Thrift Shop and the National PTA have reached a mutual agreement that will see the removal of “PTA” from the local thrift shop’s name. The decision to change the PTA Thrift Shop’s name comes after tension between the thrift shop and the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools PTA Council. The council sent a […]
PTA Thrift Shop Entering 'Period of Due Diligence' Over Use of PTA in Name
The PTA Thrift Shop will enter a “period of due diligence, beginning in the fall, regarding our organization’s name.” That decision was made by the nonprofit’s Board of Directors during its meeting last week and comes amid tension between the thrift shop and the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools PTA Council. The council sent […]
Decision Looming After PTA Council Request PTA Thrift Shop Drop PTA from Name
An issue that had been bubbling for years finally boiled over earlier this month when the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools PTA Council asked the local PTA Thrift Shop to drop “PTA” from its name. The request came after more than a half-century of the thrift shop operating in a way that large portions […]
Council, Thrift Shop at Odds Over Use of 'PTA'
The decades-long relationship between the PTA Thrift Shop and the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools PTA Council is entering new territory. For decades, the harmonious relationship helped get more money into local schools, but it has been strained in recent years as the amount of money coming to the individual school PTAs has declined […]
YouthWorx Creates Space for Youth-Serving Nonprofits
YouthWorx on Main is a brand-new youth-serving nonprofit collaborative that will live on Main Street in Carrboro, adjacent to the PTA Thrift Shop. The thrift shop and Youth Forward worked together to form YouthWorx and give other local nonprofits a place to work. “We talk about co-housing, we talk about co-working with adults,” said Carrboro […]
›