The Salvation Army Thrift Store loves uniting with donors in our shared communities to help care for our neighbours in need. One such partnership we are proud to highlight is the one we have with the Islington United Church located at 25 Burnamthorpe in Etobicoke, Ontario. Every year, the church hosts a rummage sale to raise funds for their causes. Following each sale, excess items not sold have been donated to local charities, including The Salvation Army Thrift Store. Over the past six years, however, our partnership has grown and last year alone, they collected 300 bags of donations specifically for our organization, setting a new precedent!
Valerie Greenfield, a church volunteer shared that what she appreciates most about the partnership is the promptness and dependability of our teams when picking up donations. She said, “The staff and truck are lovely and organized.”
The annual rummage sale attracts members of the local community to both donate and shop, starting on a Friday evening and continuing into early afternoon of the following Saturday. Last year, 20–30 student volunteers from the local high school helped move boxes into the parking lot for pickup by our organization. It was quite the production, requiring a lot of effort to set up, manage the sale, clean up, and move the boxes from inside of the church to outside for collection.
Among the items donated to The Salvation Army Thrift Store were housewares, small appliances, lamps, towels, bedding, linens, and other soft goods. “You got all of the treasures,” said Valerie.
Donations are at the heart of what we do, and we understand that many items hold sentimental value for our donors and may be difficult to part with. As Valerie noted, “Our donors will often ask us, ‘What do you do with the stuff that doesn’t sell?’ As they are sometimes anxious about giving up their item, especially if it is a family treasure. When we tell them that it goes to The Salvation Army, they have no problem giving the donation. So that’s the image you have out in the world, that you do good things and people want to donate to you.”
We are honoured by the generosity of our donors and their continued support of our mission. We are equally grateful for our valued partnership with Islington United church. As Valerie explained, this partnership has been ongoing for the past six years, and we look forward to seeing it continuing to grow.
Thank you for partnering with us — we are excited about what we can accomplish together in the years ahead!
Interested in hosting a donation drive? Getting started is easy—just complete our online form. A member of our team will connect with you to provide support, guidance, and helpful resources to make your event a success.