CULLMAN – On Monday morning, April German, who created Victoria’s Hope (VH) last year as a way to help single parents and families in need, opened her new thrift shop in Cullman. The ministry began in a small borrowed space in Dodge City, but in a year outgrew its shop and separate storage facilities.
Around lunchtime, German told The Tribune that her opening day had already been “Amazing! We’ve had people in and out all day long, steady flow. I’ve just been amazed! It’s been a blessing. The past couple of weeks have been a lot of work, and so I’m just so happy for it to be here, and to see the community come in.”
See our livestreamed interview with German from the shop at https://www.facebook.com/CullmanTribune/videos/2277297249201231/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARCAlIzl1Xktjw81yUYdiV9uUhH7jeiFTDCOmh4XsnK3CaDxac6Gy-DtHdikezU9ZYc6YQh_TduQURv0.
The new location, which features retail sales to the public, is still open free of charge to those in need; and all sale proceeds go back into VH or to other local charities. As of Monday morning, the ministry has donated $3,352 to other local causes this year.
German told The Tribune, “We’re still doing the same thing we did before, but now we’ll be able to raise more money to help the community. I want to pay off lunchroom debts at the end of the year, and student debts of students that may not graduate. I didn’t know this, but students can’t graduate sometimes, if they don’t have their debts paid, and a lot of parents can’t afford it. So I’m going to work with school counselors and stuff like that, to see which kids need help.”
German is sponsoring “buy a butterfly” for folks who want to contribute. Butterflies can be purchased for any donation amount in honor or memory of anyone the donor chooses, and will be displayed around the shop.
VH will be open Tuesday and Wednesday of this week from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and may even open on July 4. Starting next week, regular hours will be 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Clients can make appointments for vouchers based on income and family size. The ministry also helps in emergencies as well, including four families devastated by house fires in the last month alone.
The shop will hold its official ribbon cutting on Saturday, July 13.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/vickishope42018/.
