As more Round Rock families line up for food assistance, with demand climbing 8% this year, the Round Rock Area Serving Center knew it needed more than goodwill to keep up. It needed space.
After a year of construction, the nonprofit has expanded its thrift store, Treasures Charity Resale Shop & Boutique, which helps fund nearly 40% of its mission.
By doubling their retail footprint and consolidating their boutique clothing and furniture stores into one facility, the center is positioned to increase the support it provides to local neighbors.
Bringing the vision to life
The journey to opening day was a true community effort. Just before Christmas, the team received the keys to the building and immediately began moving in.
Over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, more than 100 volunteers, from retirees to local teen groups, lined up to haul racks, sort clothes and build out the floor. The center had previously purchased $24,000 worth of matching shelving from a closing Bed Bath & Beyond, which had been stored for two years just for this moment.
Within three days, the expanded store was up and running.
“The volunteers are really excited, and they are here to make this all happen,” Executive Director Lori Scott said. “They’ve taken wonderful ownership of this.”
On January 20, the day of the soft opening, the store hit nearly $4,000 in sales, which is double what they normally bring in for a single day.
Many shoppers have commented on how spacious and beautiful the new building is. One volunteer shared that a friend texted her after visiting to say, “The store is so amazing; I spent so much money.”
This increase in sales means the center can generate more unrestricted funds to help neighbors with food, rental assistance and utility bills without relying so heavily on outside grants.
Continuing the growth
This new building is only Phase 1 of a three-part plan. Phase 2 is set to begin in February. It will relocate the food pantry into the vacated furniture store space to double its current size.
Because of this, the Serving Center can better support their client choice model, which means families can make their selections using grocery carts, much like a regular store. The new layout will allow for more shelving and better movement for the 1,200 families served every month.
Phase 3, expected to begin in March, will bring a veterans’ service facility into the previous clothing boutique space.
At its heart, this expansion is about care and capacity.
Last year alone, the Serving Center assisted over 110,000 people and distributed 1.8 million pounds of food, and with food demand on the rise, the center simply needed more room to grow.
“We feel so honored and so blessed to have completed all of this because the mission is to provide services for our community,” Scott said.
How you can help
While the new building is open, the work is just beginning. The Serving Center is putting out a call for:
- Donations: they have a much larger, more convenient driveway for drop-offs and need fresh inventory to fill the shelves
- Volunteers: more space means more help is needed to sort, price and sell items
- Shoppers: every dollar spent in the thrift store goes directly back into helping Round Rock families
Click here to learn more, or to get involved with the Round Rock Area Serving Center today.
The above story was produced by Senior Multi-Platform Journalist Sydney Heller with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
