Business & Tech
NOVA breaks ground on new permanent Thrift Shop home
Local dignitaries, friends and staff participate as the ceremonial first shovel goes in the ground for the 9,500sf building.
Participating in the official groundbreaking for the new permanent home for NOVA Thrift Shop on Thursday, May 26, are Network of Victim Assistance “friends and family”:
Front row, left to right: Keith Kirkner, NOVA Director of Finance; Karen Corbett, former Thrift Shop manager; Maria White (holding shovel), current Thrift Shop manager; Penny Ettinger (holding shovel), NOVA Executive Director; Sen. Chuck McIlhinney (PA-10); Rep. Marguerite Quinn (PA-143); Justin Hartrum, VP/Commercial Lending, QNB Bank.
Back row, left to right: Jim Linske, Phillips & Donovan Architects; Don Delamater, Hilltown Township manager; Jack White, NOVA volunteer; Bob Hills, Jonathan Kassa and Dot Gaboda, members of NOVA’s Board of Directors; Ray Kerr, NOVA volunteer and Project Manager.
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“I am so pleased that NOVA’s Thrift Shop has grown so much in the past 15 years that a new shop needs to be built,” says Senator Chuck McIlhinney. “This new store will allow NOVA to continue to raise funds to help victims of crime in Bucks County.”
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Details
NOVA closed on the purchase of the 3.25-acre parcel at Route 313 and Broad Street in January 2016. The planned 9,500-square-foot building will accommodate the shop’s need for retail, office, preparation and storage space for many years to come.
NOVA’s board of directors expects the 15-year-old thrift shop to relocate to its new quarters by fall 2016. Meanwhile, the shop continues to operate at its original location a mile and a third down the highway at Route 313 and New Galena Road.
“With our continuous growth, we’ve repeatedly outgrown our rented facility here,” says Maria White, shop manager. “We’ve pushed the limits of our available space, including two substantial sheds to the rear of the current building.”
The shop opened in 2001 to raise funds for the victim services agency. To date, it has donated over $2.2 million for NOVA’s services and programs. NOVA Thrift Shop accepts donations of gently used and new clothing for all ages, accessories, smaller household items and books, as well as consigned non-clothing items of higher value. Operating with a small paid staff and a large corps of volunteers, the shop regularly contributes more than half of its income from sales to NOVA, the rape crisis center and crime victim support agency for Bucks County. NOVA is a 501c3 nonprofit agency.
