Humane Society Thrift Store Offers Back to School Deals

By Addison Speck

Ilonga Mboyo of Cedar Rapids shops at Second Chance Thrift Store on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in northeast Cedar Rapids. The store, which opened in May, benefits the Cedar Valley Humane Society. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

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By Jay Knoll

Story Created: Aug 21, 2012 at 11:05 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 22, 2012 at 11:37 AM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Back-to-School shopping on a budget? The Second Chance Thrift Store raises money to support the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

From Tuesday until Saturday, the store will offer back-to-school discounts to help support families on a tight budget. Store leaders hope by offering an additional 25 percent off, on any items, for students who show a student I.D., they can help students save while raising more money for animals in need.

"Back to school time can be a very expensive time for families and college students as well," said Jan Clarke, the Communications Director for the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

Whether it's school supplies or apartment necessities, the Second Chance Thrift Shop has a little bit of everything.

"Coffee pots, toasters, toaster ovens, electronics, the stuff people could use in a dorm or apartment," said store manager Kurt Noack.

Noack said he read in the paper that people are spending up to 800 dollars per student to go back to school. "They would not even spend close to that here, that's for sure," he said.

With bar stools for 15 dollars, and binders for just 1 dollar, you'll likely find yourself, like most bargain hunters, taking more than one item home. "I love the thrift because it's good for my pocketbook, it's good for the humane shelter, it's good for the ecology, it's good all the way around and they have great stuff." said Joe Clark, of Cedar Rapids.

The great stuff is courtesy of those who support the Cedar Valley Humane Society. Leaders say since the store opened in May, there's been no shortage of things to stock the shelves.

"We rented another area in the strip mall because we really just needed more space to accommodate the donations," said Clarke. "We had the jewelry cases and I was saying to someone before we opened one day, I hope we can have enough to put in here. Now, we have jewelry underneath that I don't have room for," added Noack.

Store leaders ring this up to be a so-far successful approach to raising consistent revenue for the Humane Society, all while putting more cash back in the hands of Eastern Iowans.

The Second Chance Thrift Store is located at 617 Center Point Rd NE in Cedar Rapids. For store hours and additional information you can go to their website at : http://secondchancethriftstore.wordpress.com/about/ click here

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