Damage closes Columbia Salvation Army location, store could lose over $100K
A long metal chain draws a line across the entrance of the Salvation Army Family Store at 1312 N. Millwood Ave. White garbage bags packed with donated linens languish against a dusty window, visible from the sidewalk outside.
It’s been three months since the Columbia-Richland Fire Department ordered the thrift store closed over fears that the building could fall down around patrons as they shopped. The closure is costing the nonprofit thousands of dollars a month.
The store’s closure is a concern for more than just the immediate revenue the nonprofit receives through selling items. The store is also a resource for case-workers who need to connect people in crisis with immediate resources, including clothes and furniture. And of course, the store sells goods at a lower price than retail stores, a valuable offering for families on a budget.
Fire officials Dec. 5 declared the building formally “unsafe” after an accident at an adjacent construction site damaged the shop’s back wall. With repairs expected to keep the store closed for roughly eight months, the nonprofit could lose more than $100,000 in sales that help pay for financial assistance programs — and residents will temporarily lose a centrally-located resource for affordable clothes, furniture and other items sold at the store.
“That store brings in about $10,000 to $15,000 a month into the Salvation Army’s operations that we in turn invest back into Midlands families,” Salvation Army Area Commander Major Mark Craddock told The State.
They are currently working to get the proper building permits to fix the damage. If everything goes as planned, the store could be re-opened by the end of summer, either in August or September, Craddock said. That means the Salvation Army of the Midlands will lose the income from the store for at least eight months, if not more.
The money raised by selling items at the store goes into helping families with rent and utilities, supporting the Salvation Army’s Farrow Road food pantry, and other support services, Craddock said.
To fix the store will cost an estimated $300,000 to $325,000, which is expected to be paid through an insurance claim made by the construction company that caused the damage, Craddock said.
The store itself sits between two historic Black neighborhoods; Waverly and Lyon Street, and just around the corner from the former site of the Gonzalez Gardens public housing project, which has now been razed and replaced with a new affordable housing community.
The area is generally less affluent than the rest of Columbia, with a poverty rate about 20 percent higher than the city average: About 28.8% of people in the area around the Salvation Army thrift store are considered below the poverty line, compared to 24% citywide, according to Census data.
Craddock said he’s also concerned about losing donors who in the past made dropping items at the Millwood Avenue shop part of their routine.
“We’ll have to rebuild [those relationships] once we open back up,” he said.
The Salvation Army has an active thrift store in Ballentine at 1341 Dutch Fork Dr., but that store can’t fully make up the losses from the Millwood store being closed, Craddock said. It’s also about a 30-minute drive from the more centrally-located Millwood Avenue location.
How can you help?
Craddock is urging the public to continue donating goods to the Salvation Army, either by delivering donations to their office at 3024 Farrow Rd., in the remaining donation bins at the Millwood store, or by calling the Salvation Army hotline for help picking up larger donation items at 803-748-9964.
