A local favorite has a new location. Helping the Orphans Thrift Store has been a staple in Carthage for 10 years, earning a loyal following of customers from all over Moore County. They recently moved to Aberdeen, with the Carthage location closing on Dec. 17.
Their new location is old Billy’s Music World located at 304 S. Sandhills Blvd. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Items at Helping the Orphans Thrift Store.
The stores are an outreach of the Orphans of Kenya Project. Their mission is to build a children’s home in Kenya, Africa.
Kenya has a significant number of children living as orphans. In America, they are called orphanages and are usually run by a government agency. Kenya had a problem with many orphanages mistreating or even selling children. These institutions were run mainly by overseas organizations. This resulted in Kenya passing the Children’s Act of 2001, which among other things, banned overseas orphanages. They now must have a Kenyan citizen as the leader and are called Children’s Charitable Organizations.
Founder of Helping the Orphans Thrift Store, Wesley Wallis, moved his family to Kenya a couple of years ago. They purchased a 62-acre plot of land and are in the process of building the necessary facilities. Pastor Wallace made a trip to Kenya 12 years ago and was touched by the needy children of Kenya. Wallis became a Kenyan citizen and ran the Joseph Wallis Children’s Organization.
According to the World Health Organization, Kenya has over three million orphans (almost 50% of those are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS). Over 25% of the nation lives on $1 per day. Over 700 children are orphaned every day, and these children are often the target of child traffickers.
Orphans of Kenya Project, the parent organization’s mission is “to meet the physical, spiritual, and educational needs of the Orphans of Kenya.” In the words of Orphans of Kenya Project Vice President Tommy Underwood, they are “doing our best to see that no child misses the Grace of God.”
The profits from the stores are used to support the orphans. From a single store in Hope Mills, they now have locations in Aberdeen, Spring Lake, Red Springs, Lumberton, Pembroke, Clinton, and two locations in Fayetteville.
The Aberdeen store offers a selection of gently used clothing and household goods at reasonable prices. Ladies’ tops are $2.49, jeans are $3.49, and sweaters are $2.99. The store also offers furniture and consumer electronics at pennies on the dollar versus new. All items are tested before being offered for sale.
Your purchase at Helping the Orphans Thrift Store will make the world a little bit better for some of the neediest children.
The store also accept donations, and since they are recognized as a 501(C) organization, they can provide a tax receipt. To donate, bring your items to the store, or call 910-637-0114 to request a pickup of large items.
Feature photo: Helping the Orphans Thrift Store worker, Madison, poses at the new location in Aberdeen.
~Article and photos by Sandhills Sentinel Reporter Chris Prentice. Contact him at [email protected].
