Veteran’s council opens store
Published 10:58 am Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Members of the Piedmont Area Veterans Council and Community Resources organization stand in front of the organization’s newly established thrift store that sells mainly women’s clothing. Pictured are, from left, Ed Dunn, Sarah Dunn, Chasity Hubbard and April Merkle (picture by Morgan White).
The Piedmont Area Veterans Council and Community Resources’ thrift store sells donated women’s designer clothing at thrift-store prices (picture by Morgan White).
The Piedmont Area Veterans Council and Community Resources (PAVC) has opened a thrift store at 146 N. Main St. in downtown Farmville.
According to the council’s co-founder, Sarah Dunn, the store will deposit all revenue from sales toward furthering services for veterans, active-duty service members, their family members and caregivers in the area that the council serves.
The counties the organization serves include Appomattox, Prince Edward, Buckingham, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Cumberland, Amelia, Brunswick, Halifax, Mecklenburg and Nottoway.
“We cater more to women; 99 percent of our stuff is brand new,” Dunn said of the merchandise in the store. “It’s designer stuff that has been donated.”
She said the store was selling the clothes at thrift store prices.
“So, we take donations, we take consignments,” Dunn said. “We have volunteers that will work the store and … other than paying our rent every month, every penny of it will be put right back to partnering with other non- profits (and) businesses.”
Dunn said she’d talked to John Burton, the Farmville Downtown Partnership program manager, about possibly partnering with a business downtown “to do an event to actually bring veterans in or, you know, their family members, then we would help sponsor.”
“We want to be able to give back to the community,” Dunn said.
The store will be open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. It will be closed on Sunday and Monday.
According to the PAVC website, the organization has a three-fold mission. It guides those in need through it’s comprehensive network of local and national resources including reintegration, health care, family and caregiver support, recreation, employment, education, finance as well as others.
It’s also the area’s veterans, military and community council that attracts leaders and community partners who work to collaborate and provide information on mission initiatives and is the central point for veterans, military and supporters to join together and support other veterans through the PAVC and other initiatives, outreach, training and volunteer opportunities.
