The community is invited to celebrate the grand opening of the St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital Upscale Thrift Store on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. The store is located at 4980-B Carey Station Road, Greensboro.

The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony with ambassadors from the Greene County Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary’s leaders, including Trinity Health Georgia President and CEO Stonish Pierce. Light refreshments will be served, and there will be brief messages from Pierce, Chamber leaders, and Angie Patterson, the professional retail manager who oversees St. Mary’s thrift stores and gift shops in Greensboro and Athens. The grand opening will also feature door prize drawings and special sales all day long.

The store is staffed and operated by volunteers and will initially be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Patterson expects the hours will be extended as more volunteers join. The proceeds from the store will be used to support the mission of St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital.

The store accepts donations of lightly used goods and furniture any time it is open. They are looking for high-quality, gently used items such as clothing, books, electronics, jewelry, tableware, art, decorative items, collectibles, and furniture. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. If you have questions about what can be accepted, you can call the store at (706) 453-5009.

Patterson noted, "We have a wonderful core group of volunteers who are eager to open the store and love to see all the excitement in the community. Volunteering at the thrift store is a great way to support our local hospital while making friends, having fun and doing good work.” She added that the store has the potential to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the hospital, citing the success of a similar thrift store in Athens that has generated over $2 million in sales since it opened in 2008.

For more information or to apply to volunteer, you can email Patterson at [email protected] or call her at (706) 206-1672. People interested in volunteering can also apply online at the provided link.