The Good Shepherd Alliance Thrift Store

I fond farewell from your Store Manager

2008-12-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

Folks,
Which much saddness at leaving all the wonderful people I have met over the last 4 1/2 years, I must tell you I'm leaving GSA. I have taken a position doing the same thing with an organization in Florida. It has been a wild ride and I thank each and every one of you that have shopped with GSA and supported it's mission of helping the homeless in Loudoun County.
I will be in Sterling until 31st and then it's off to sunny and warm Florida.
Sincerely
Mary Fittro

Black Friday Sale

2008-11-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Black Friday -Nov 28 2008. will feature 50% off the entire store. We open at 11am.
Shop early for the best value. We replenish stock all day long. We have a ton of Christmas merchandise out for sale right now. We also have a good selection of winter coats plus a lot of jewelry still left from the Antique sale. You won't want to miss this sale. It will not be repeated this year.
FYI - we are staying in Sterling. Ashburn is up and running and sale is going on in their store as well.
See you Friday
MAry

Fact or Fiction – you have to be poor to shop in a thrift store?

2008-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is pure fiction. A common misconception is that you have to be poor to shop at thrift stores. This can’t be further from the truth. Now days alot of folks are finding the value of thrift stores. On any given day in my parking lot you find an assortment of high end vehicles. I’m talking Mercedes, Caddie’s, Lexus. How do you think people these afford to drive these nice cars.? They shop smart, and shopping at thrift stores for basic clothing needs is smart shopping. The Good Shepherd Alliance now operates 2 thrift stores in Loudoun County. The older store in Sterling is in the Regal Center Plaza. And our newest store, is now open in Ashburn near the Ashburn Fire Department on Ashburn Road. Both stores feature an eclectic mix of merchandise. While Ashburn’s store is small and features only the best of clothing choices. The Sterling store is bigger and features almost 7000 pcs of clothing on the racks at any given time. Shirts sell for $4 and pants for $6. Add $5 for a pair of shoes and you have a complete outfit for $15. Try doing that in the mall or at Walmart for that matter.
With the state of our present economy, people are looking for the best value for their dollar. There are fewer dollars to go around so one must make each dollar stretch as far as you can.
So to answer the question? No! anyone with money can shop in our thrift stores. Plus we offer vouchers for those that don’t have money, they just need to get a referral from any social services office, church or school.
Two good reasons to shop at our thrift stores. Number one your helping the homeless here in this county. Number two - by shopping the thrift stores your helping to save the planet by recycling.
Think about it, every body wins. We get money to help the homeless, you get to save money and we all help to save the planet.

So before you go out to the mall and your local discount retailer. Check your local thrift store. You will be doing your wallet and the planet a favor.

More info on Antique and Collectible Sale

2008-11-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

This sale is being held in Sterling at The Good Shepherd Alliance Thrift Store located at 20921 Davenport Drive Suite 113, Sterling, Va 20165.
Here's a small sampling of things I remember
wedgwood
football cards, basketball cards,baseball cards
collectible toy action figures
Dept 56 Christmas village
jewelry - nice costume pieces as well as fine jewelry
vintage ladies hats
old glass christmas ornaments
old sheet music
vintage toys
Wizard Magazines
Little Golden Books
Old figurines including glass and ceramic
couple of sets of old silverware - nice condition

This is just a sample of stuff we have. There is something for every collector
We are still collecting stuff for this sale.

Sale is Saturday November 22 2008. Doors open at 11am - In fairness to everyone,there will not be any early previews of any of the items.

Remember proceeds go towards our homeless shelter programs.

Need additional info call thrift store 703-444-5956 or 703-887-7397 -But don't call about individual items please.

Antique and Collectible Sale - Not an Auction this year

2008-11-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

2nd Annual Antique And Collectibles Sale

This year’s sale is being held in Sterling at the Thrift Store located at 20921 Davenport Drive Suite 113,
Sterling VA 20165. Located in the Regal Center Plaza on Rt 7 in front of the movie theaters.
Date: 11/22/2008 Saturday
Time: 11am—7pm
Comic books, books, pictures, jewelry, glassware,
antique toys, vintage hats and much more.

Why wait until Black Friday to do your Christmas shopping, when you can shop with us and help the homeless.
Contact person: 703-444-5956 or 703-887-7397
Mary Fittro

Christmas has come to The Good Shepherd Thrift Store in Sterling

2008-11-01T05:20:00.001-07:00

Folks,
with money so tight these days. The best way to save money on Christmas is to buy secondhand. I've spent the last 3 days hauling holiday goods out of storage and I'm still not done. If you haven't visited the store in a while and love Christmas then you need to stop and see us. Our Christmas section is expanding to accomodate all the holiday I have stored away. Yesterday we put 10 bins full of Holiday goods on the floor.
Thrift Stores are a great way of saving money on gifts too. We still have a selection of Little Black Dress Jewelry. These are great Christmas gifts for the your special someone.
FYI - Make sure to test everything electrical before you leave. I don't have the time to stop and check everything. With the mountain of merchandise I have it's faster if I don't stop and check.
Mary

Little Black Dress Jewelry

2008-10-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Folks,
I just rec'd a ton of Little Black Dress jewelry line. These are beautiful pieces. All are brand new. This is just a small sampling of the pieces we have. But now is the time to shop for Christmas.
Mary

Sale Prices on almost all clothes

2008-10-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Folks,
Sale going on now on almost all clothes. You've got to stop and see. We're in the process of expanding the selection and putting new clothes out daily. Where else can you get a designer shirt for $4. Hurry now these clothes sell fast.
MAry

YES, the Thrift Store has phones once again.

2008-08-21T05:38:00.000-07:00

Folks,
If anyone has tried calling the store in Sterling, you know you couldn't get through. Well, finally the Folks at Verizon decided they did own the line and where able to fix it properly this time. It's a long drawn out story involving our Director of Operations spending many, many hours on the phone with Verizon. But for right now they seem to be working. Keep your fingers crossed. Now I need all your prayers that they are truly fixed.
Mary

Well I spoke to soon. The Sterling store is open BUT the phones are not currently working

2008-08-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Folks,
The phones in Sterling are still messed up. We are still open and are taking donations. We're working to resolve this issue with VERIZON (do I need to say more). We can call out but it's hit or miss if you can call us. Right now some landline phones are geting through but that's not a guarentee. Just bear with us.
Check the website for donation hours which are Mon- Sat 11am to 6pm. The website gives you a donation guide are well. www. loudounhomeless.org.
thanks for sticking by us.
Mary

Thrift Store got a shipment of brand new sportswear.

2008-08-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

Folks, you gotta see these clothing items to believe it. They are really nice and we have a large variety of colors. The dresses are selling for $10. All the Other pieces are selling for $5 each. If you want more of this type of clothing you can see a larger variety at our Ashburn location - Hope's Treasures.

the camera does not capture how nice these pieces are. Stop by before they are all gone.

Mary

Thrift Store Still has some phone issues

2008-08-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry ,Folks our good friends over at Verizon are continuing to work on getting our phones coming into the thrift store back in working order. Seems the problem is cell phones. So if you need to reach the thrift store, call using a landline phone. Cell phones will not go thru. Who knew it was possible to set up a line and not let cell phones go thru. Well it is and has been happening for almost a week now. But calls coming from a regular phone attached to a phone line are coming in just fine.
We are still there and have no plans to move until the 1st of the year (if then). We take donations 11 to 6 Mon-Sat. We are not open on Sunday and would appreciate it if you did not "leave donations" on that date. They never reach us. They get stolen or damaged by the elements. Anything that gets wet has to be thrown out.
Mary

Thrift Store looking for help

2008-07-17T18:07:00.001-07:00

Folks, the thrift store in Sterling is in need of some help. We are looking to hire. See a cashier at the front for an application. Be aware in order for me to even consider your application you must fill out the release form to allow us to do a preliminarybackground check. A fingerprint background check will also be required if hired.
Mary Fittro
Store Manager

Sterling Phones are working again 703-444-5956

2008-07-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Folks,
We straighten out the mess with the phones and the Sterling Thrift Store Phones are working once again. So dial 703-444-5956 if you need help. The phones might go to a fax tone if someone is on the regular line. If that happens wait about 10 min and try again.
Store hours 11-7 mon-sat
donation hours 11-6 mon-sat
Mary

Yes the store is still open - We've had issues with phones

2008-07-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Folks,
If you've tried calling our main store number it's either rung busy or rang into Ashburn. Of course neither Verizon or Cavelier want to fess up to who screwed up. Altough I got to credit them both with expediting my service request to put the line back. IN the meantime if you really need to reach the thrift store you can call 703-433-2641. But this line is used for other purposes and cannot me tied up for long periods of time. So don't think we're being rude when we try to end the call as quickly as possible. We just need to run a credit card transaction through or need to receive a fax.
Thanks for all you understanding and patience.
Store hours remain the same
Monday thru Sat 11- 7
with donation hours 11-6 each day we're open
We are a faith based organization so we are not open on Sunday.
Mary

Sterling is still open and will remain open until end of the year.

2008-07-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Folks,
I know the news articles all talk about us shutting this store down and going to Ashburn that WILL NOT HAPPEN until the end of the year.So you can continue to shop and drop your donations in Sterling until the end of this year.
Mary

Good News for Sterling

2008-06-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

Folks, looks like we're going to be able to keep the store in Sterling until the end of this year. If sales go up like they have been we might be able to stay beyond that. But for right now we are scheduled to be open until DEC 2008. So keep shopping and dropping off the donations.

BTW- Here's a shot of the new facility in Ashburn where Hope's Treasures (our other store will have it's permanent home). Hope's Treasures is now open in Ashburn temporarily in the shopping plaza right next door. As soon as the last piece of the puzzle is in place we'll be moving HT into it's permanent location. Did I confuse you?
Anyhow thanks to all the folks in sterling who have stepped up and purchased from us, this has helped us stay in Sterling.
Mary

Sale of the day

2008-06-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

I've pulled out the crystal ball and foresee a luggage sale. So for all those traveling now is the time to pick up your extra pieces of luggage.
Pricing to be determined but it will be at least half off all luggage and tote bags. Sale will not include purses or handbags.
Mary

Yard Sale Season

2008-06-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

Is spending all you time going from yard sale to yard sale draining your energy and your wallet. Then your first stop should be our stores. You know about the big one in Countryside(Regal Center Plaza) but did you know about the one in Ashburn. We have a temporary store set up in the 7-11 plaza just next door to where our new permanent home will be. The address there is 20630 Ashburn Road Unit 183. It's named Hope's Treasures and is open 11-7 Tues-Frid and 9-5 on Sat.But this store is straight retail and does not accept donations.

The main store in Sterling is open for business Mon- Sat 11-7 and takes donations 11-6. We sometimes get there before 11 and will take your donations if we are there.

Remember to check the list on the main website (http://www.loudounhomeless.org/) for donation do's and don'ts.

STORE DONATION HOURS EXPANDED

2008-06-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

Folks,
you heard it right. We now take donations from 11am to 6pm Monday- Saturday. Just check our website at www.loudounhomeless.org to see what we take and do not take.
Mary
FYI - yes the Sterling site is still open and will be open for several months. Keep an eye on this blog or the above mention website for when/if we close.

YES we are still taking donations in Sterling.

2008-05-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Folks,
As you might have heard we are moving. BUT not yet. Our location in Sterling at the Regal Center Plaza is still open and operating. See post below on specifics or check the website at www.loudounhomeless.org for more info.
Our building in Ashburn is scheduled for completion mid June - but then again this is the 5th different date we've been given since we started a year ago. So keep an eye on this blog and our website listed above. Put yourself on our email /mailing list. You will be notified when the change is happening.
Be sure to visit our temporary store in the 7-11 plaza in OLD ASHBURN. Check the website for our new store at www.hopestreasures.org. This location is only temporary and does not take donations of any kind.
Mary

How to Donate

2008-05-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Folks,
Just a reminder. Since yard sale season is upon us,I thought it wise to have a chat about the do's and don'ts of donating to our store.
Donation hours - Mon thru Thur we take donations 11am to 6pm.
Friday and Sat we take from 11am to 3pm.
Please arrange to arrive during those times so you not disappointed and left with a car load of donations.
It's not that we don't want our things, you have to remember Sterling is a leased spot and we have to leave it clean when we leave at night. Even if you only have one bag the 6 cars just pulling in will have more and it will never end. We have to establish limits. We only have a skeleton crew. Right now we are paying a mortgage and rent. So we are cutting cost wherever we can to still make money for our programs.
With all that said he's some general guidelines
- there is a sign posted at the drop off site - this list specific items we seem to get dumped on us and we don't have any use for these items, so they go in the trash. If it's on that list please don not disguise it and leave.That load of toys will go in the trash as well as the old time computer monitors.
-this list is not all of the items we do not take. Ask an associate BEFORE you start unloading.
-please separate breakables from clothing. - Nothing worse then reaching a bag and getting your hand sliced open on a broken piece of glass. Clothing gets tossed into a pile to get sorted later.
-if it's been in your basement and you have a damp basement - do not bring anything from there to us. I have seen at least one employee turn blue because of the mold. I know I have allergies and the one thing I can smell across the parking lot is mold and mildew. So if any employee asks if this has been stored in he basement, it's probably because thy have smelled it and will not take it.
- it should go without saying that we do not take anything wet, soiled, broken,missing pieces. But we still fill 2 dumspters every weekend with this type of stuff.
Folks check our website at www.loudounhomeless.org and click on the donation link guide. It will give you a really good idea of what we take and don't take.
We appreciate your donations. And look forward to seeing you.
Mary in Sterling
One more thing - never leave stuff after hours - it just gets stolen before we ever get to it. And it just ticks off the neighbors.

Bag Sale Children's Clothes

2008-04-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

Folks, looks like thrift store is overrun with kids clothings. So they are having a bag sale. What does this mean..It means what ever childrens clothing you can fit into a bag is sold at one price. You'll have to check the store for the start day but it might possiblely be today Friday April 11th or as late as tommorrow. You'll have to check the store for price.
It's worth stopping.
They have tables full of childrens clothing.
Mary

Sorry,I've been away and now I've opened a new store

2008-04-04T19:51:00.001-07:00

Folks, thanks for reading this blog. I've been really, really busy lately. We opened a second site called Hope's Treasures in Ashburn right next door to the property we are in the process of renovating. I'm on that site now until we move in the finished building. So this blog own't be updated as often. I can tell you that the thrift store is still operating and taking donation until we finish that building. I can't take any donations on site in ashburn so I send everyone to Sterling. The store will start to look empty but that's just because we need to get rid of some of the fixtures that we are not takin with us. I have takin quite a few to the new store already. Stop by and say hi.
Mary

Hope's Treasures MAY be opening soon

2008-03-05T05:26:00.000-08:00

Keep watching this blog. I can't give full details yet. But we may have a location to put our RETAIL store HOPE'S TREASURES. This location will only serve as a retail outlet and not a donation drop off.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY DONATIONS ONSITE AT ALL. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.
It will be filled with many new treasures.
Mary