The new Many Hands Thrift Market location on Merle Hay road

Many Hands Thrift Market is excited to announce the opening of a new store, located at 4353 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines, IA. Formerly a Salvation Army Thrift Store, this new location will be the fourth in Iowa for the Many Hands Thrift Market. The store is 37,000 square feet with a sales space of over 23,000 square feet, which will make this the retailer’s biggest store. Many Hands is aiming to open the store in November 2021, with donations opening early on October 5th. Tim Brand, CEO of Many Hands, says that this location will create an even deeper impact, strengthening the community.

This store will change lives through the relationships built, items repurposed, and resources generated.

“We believe in generously growing impact. These stores ignite generosity in our communities, through the donations received, the volunteer hours given, and the prices paid for the merchandise,” stated Brand. “This store will change lives through the relationships built, items repurposed, and resources generated.”

The new Merle Hay location will deliver the same well-loved shopping experience the stores are known for in the Metro. In 2020, Many Hands Thrift Market was voted Best Local Thrift Store in the CITYVIEW BEST of DSM and Best Local Retailer in the UScellular™ Best of the West Awards. Steve Lucas, District Manager, attributes the retailer’s success to a hard-working team that cares about the customer and community.

“Many Hands Thrift has truly become a place where people are welcomed and cared for. We are a family of volunteers and staff that live life together. When you walk into this store, we want you to know that you matter and have value in this community,” Lucas explained.

The store will feature merchandise appealing to all kinds of shoppers, with a wide variety of gently-used, secondhand goods such as men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, home décor, housewares, furniture, toys, and more. The store will also hold a wide selection of new items including fair trade items and Haitian-made products.

“We will be building off our current style of a thrift store, with a wide range of high-quality items at a low price point. The store will have beautiful fixtures and an open, department store feel, with merchandise neatly organized and a fresh smell. New Solid Ground Fair Trade items will still be featured in the store, helping create a market for unique items from developing countries. These items provide much-needed economic development for people making on average $1.27 a day,” shared Lucas.

Once finished, the store will have 23,000 square feet of sales space

The proceeds from the store will go towards local and global needs. In Haiti, funds raised by the store will support feeding and development programs for over 400 families. The stores helped fund the recent construction of a new Love in Action center in Haiti, which will add another 150 families in 2022.

The stores also donate to Des Moines-based nonprofits through their Local Impact Programs. This includes their quarterly Give Local events, Surge volunteer events, and resourcing of local nonprofits. Since opening their first store in 2013, Many Hands has been able to raise over $45,000 benefitting local Iowan nonprofits and over $15,000 worth of vouchers for families in need.

“All the profits go to support local and global good and are a staple of stability for us to achieve our mission to transform together, to be love in action, in our broken world. Through this store, we get the opportunity to interact with new staff, volunteers, donors, and customers and give them a glimpse into what love in action means,” shared Brand.

Many Hands Thrift Market relies on the generosity of donors in the community to fulfill its mission. There are several ways people can help the nonprofit store as they prepare to open this new location. Those with items to donate can bring their donations to the Merle Hay store starting Tuesday, October 5th. Donation doors will be open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm each week until the grand opening. Clothing, furniture, décor, and other items are welcome.

The Merle Hay store is also looking for a new team of employees and volunteers, with 15-20 staff and volunteers needed to run the store each week. Anyone interested in either of these opportunities can contact Many Hands Thrift via their website at www.manyhandsthrift.com.

Members of the Many Hands Thrift Market management team

About Many Hands:

Many Hands is an Iowa-based nonprofit creating local and global life-transformation. Established in 2008, the organization aims to ignite generosity, grow community, and take people on IMPACT journeys to carve a new, better path to live. Each year, the organization reaches at least 25,000 people through their Haitian operations, IMPACT Journeys, and Many Hands Thrift Markets located in Clive, Grimes, and Spencer, Iowa.

Many Hands is called to transform together, to be love in action, in a broken world.