A nonprofit agency providing services for children and adults with disabilities is shutting down its final thrift store.
Via of the Lehigh Valley announced plans this week to close its remaining thrift store at 1401 Broadway in Fountain Hill on Aug. 31. The move comes after Via in June 2020 permanently closed its thrift store at 859 Nazareth Pike in Lower Nazareth Township. That store opened in 2008, said Michele Grasso, vice president of development and communications for Via of the Lehigh Valley.
The organization had operated thrift stores across the Lehigh Valley since the 1970s, Grasso said. The shops sold such furniture, clothing, shoes, housewares, toys, books, games and personal care items.
Grasso told lehighvalleylive.com Wednesday the Fountain Hill store closed due to the changing retail market. Via is following the path of many retailers during the coronavirus pandemic -- they're closing their brick-and-mortar locations to focus on online sales.
Patrons can still pick up merchandise at "unprecedented discounts" through the end of August at the Fountain Hill shop. Frequent Shopper cards, however, are no longer being stamped and can no longer be redeemed.
Via will sell its thrift wares through online websites such as Poshmark, eBay and Facebook Marketplace. The organization is still accepting donations. Online items will be priced "very competitively," Grasso said.
Grasso said sales also could be expanded to other outlets in the future. Proceeds continue to support Via services, providing help to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities reach their full potential, she added.
Via announced last month it will no longer host the Via Marathon or Via All-Star Basketball Classic. Via CEO Lisa Walkiewicz said the coronavirus pandemic forced the organization to make "difficult decisions."
Funds raised no longer justified the effort put into the events, Walkiewicz said.
"It is vital that Via devote its resources to providing our life-sustaining services to support the most vulnerable members of our community," Walkiewicz then said.
Via of the Lehigh Valley began in 1952 when a group of parents met to discuss expanding opportunities available for their adult children with disabilities. Two years later, the group was incorporated as the Lehigh County Association for Retarded Children (LARC). In 1989, LARC changed its name to the Lehigh Valley Association of Rehabilitation Centers. It merged with United Cerebral Palsy of the Lehigh Valley in 1997, forming Via of the Lehigh Valley, Inc.
The agency serves more than 1,000 children and adults with disabilities in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, Pike, Bucks and Berks counties.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
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