Those attending the grand opening of the new PTA Thrift Shop in Carrboro Monday (WCHL will be broadcasting live from 7-9 am) will be blown away by the new 27,000 square foot facility on its old lot at 125 West Main Street.

Executive Director Barbara Jessie-Black and her staff are bustling round-the-clock to make sure the grand opening is, well, grand. Visitors will see vestiges of the old Thrift Shop in completely new digs. Donated goods from real estate companies and other businesses, storage units and families will be displayed in wide-open aisles on the main floor, while the downstairs processes all items without anything having to be left outside in the parking lot like the old days.

DSC_8660“It’s been an amazing effort,” said Jay Parker of Weaver Street Realty, a member of the PTA Thrift Shop Board of Directors. “Everyone involved should be very proud of this new facility.”

The $4-5 million project was funded through financing from Bank of North Carolina and private donations. A new section of the store will be the Gadget Galaxy, which will organize electronic equipment and musical instruments with a staff that can identify the condition of each item.

Hundreds of books are organized across the floor in brand new black bookcases custom-built locally. Furniture items and fixtures are being attractively positioned throughout the shop. Jessie-Black has nearly 50 employees, half who are full-time with benefits and some who have been with the thrift shop for more than 20 years.

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“Processing, efficiency and stewardship,” Jessie-Black says when asked about the three operational goals of the new PTA Thrift Shop. “We want to live at the intersection of Haves and Have-nots. People with the confidence they can donate who want to support one of the oldest non-profits in the community and people who can’t afford to shop anywhere else.”

She says the goal of the shop is to sell and recycle donated items, sending the minimal amount to the landfill.

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