Staying safe at The RE Store amidst COVID-19

Update 3/25

Hello friends,

The news is changing by the minute, are you hanging in there? We hope you’re doing what you can to take care of yourself and your loved ones.

During this time of social distancing, we’ve had many of you reach out to show support and ask how you can help. We thank you so much and are so lucky to be part of such a wonderful community.

Last Wednesday, March 19th we made the difficult decision to temporarily close The RE Store, to help curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). We’re excited to announce that we’re now offering over the phone and online sales.

Here’s how you can shop or show your support:

1) If you haven’t already, like us on Facebook. We’ll begin sharing photos of inventory as soon as we can. We’re also sharing daily DIY’s and photos from our amazing customers. Tag us in your photos if you’re doing house projects!

2) Shop with us online. We’ve developed a new webpage that lists out all the ways that you can shop, with links to our Craigslist and Letgo pages where we’re posting our inventory.

3) Purchase gift cards on our website. Gift cards are a great way to help us make it through these hard times. You can buy one for you, or gift one to a friend!

4) Donate! We felt it was the responsible choice to close the store. But that means we also had to put on pause our Community Jobs Training program. We need your help to be able to bring this valuable program back after we re-open.

And above all – stay kind, stay patient, and stay home! We recognize that things seem really scary and hard right now, but we know that by supporting each other we’ll come back as a stronger and more supportive community. We’re so grateful that we get to call you neighbors and are counting the days until we can see you again.

 

UPDATE 3/19:

To our customers, donors and community:

We’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily close The RE Store, effective March 19, to help curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). During this time, we will also close our doors to donations and will suspend our donation pick-up and salvage services. We will be coordinating with customers to arrange pick-up for items that have previously been purchased.

While there are no reported cases of coronavirus at The RE Store or within our community of staff, volunteers and trainees, we feel that it is in the best interest of our customers, donors and staff to close temporarily to help flatten the transmission curve. 

During the closure we will be working to make our stock of salvaged and recycled building materials available for purchase. We’ll be posting more information here on our blog and on Facebook – so stay tuned!

This is a fluid situation, and we will do our best to keep our community informed and up to date. We cannot eliminate COVID-19, but by practicing social distancing and hand washing, we can protect those in our community that are the most vulnerable. From all of us here at The RE Store, we thank you for your support during this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at or bham@re-store.org.

Stay healthy and be well,

Kurt Gisclair
Director
The RE Store

 

ORIGINAL POST 3/16:

Here at The RE Store, we recognize that as a business, we play a significant role in ensuring the health and safety of our community, especially those members of our community that are most vulnerable. We are closely monitoring COVID-19 updates from federal, state and local governments and institutions of public health to ensure we follow all recommendations and institute the strictest recommended precautions.

As such, we wanted to share with you how we’re continuing to operate safely.

  • We have instituted frequent cleaning and sterilization measures – paying close attention to areas such as restrooms, doorknobs, railings and the cash register. These areas and surfaces are now cleaned and sanitized throughout the day and sprayed with disinfectant at night.
  • We have a robust response plan in place to guide actions across the organization in response to new developments. All staff, volunteers and trainees have been encouraged to utilize our generous paid time off and sick time policies and to stay home at the earliest sign of symptoms. 
  • For the health and safety of our workers and other community members, we ask that if you are not in your normal health to please avoid shopping or donating at The RE Store until your 14 days after your symptoms subside. For all other shoppers and donors, our staff will continue to provide a high level of customer service while maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet. 

This is a fluid situation and we will do our best to keep our community informed and up to date. We cannot eliminate COVID-19, but by practicing social distancing and hand washing, we can protect those in our community that are the most vulnerable. 

From all of us here at The RE Store and RE Sources, we thank you for your donation and patronage during this time, and for your continued trust in our ability to provide a safe and healthy shopping and working environment. To learn more about how RE Sources is helping during this time, visit the RE Sources website. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 360-647-5921 or bham@re-store.org.