Philadelphia AIDS Thrift

2011-09-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

PHILLY AIDS THRIFT--OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK AT 11 AM

We like you, so you can call us P.A.T.

VISIT OUR NEW WEBPAGE. IT HAS PICTURES!

BIG, BIG, BIG NEWS: Philly AIDS Thrift HAS MOVED! But NOT very far. Join us at our new home JUST 100 YARDS AROUND THE CORNER at 710 S.5th Street (yes, the glorious Kroungold's Furniture building).

We are located at 710 S. 5th St Street, in the heart of the bustling So-So (south of South St.) shopping district. We exemplify the neighborhood's motto:You're OK, We're So-So.

(Need a map to see where we are and driving directions on how to get to us? Click here.)

PAT'S STORE HOURS
Monday-Thursday: 11am to 8pm
Friday & Saturday: 11am to 9pm
Sunday: 11am-7pm

Or just think of it this way:
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK AT 11AM

Want to contact us?
phone: 215.922.3186
email: phillyaidsthrift@aol.com
address: Philly AIDS Thrift, 710 S.5th St, Phila, Pa., 19147

Our January 2012 contribution to the AIDS Fund brings us to $353,450.00 in total cash contributions to Philly area AIDS organizations. Many thanks to everyone who has helped us get there.

The AIDS Fund honored our store with its 2008 Founders Award at their 2008 Black-Tie Gay Bingo night. Thanks AIDS Fund, it is deeply appreciated.

Yay! We won the City Paper's 2007 Choice Award for Best Thrift Store. Sweeeeet.

Double Yay! We won PGN's 2009 Best Place to Shop on a Budget Award. Sweeeeeter.

Yay Times Three! We won a spot on Philadelphia Weekly's 2010 Best-Place-To-Do-A-Thrift-Store-Crawl. Sweetest.

Quadraphenomenal! The Philadelphia Weekly named us 2011 Best Rebel With a Cause AND Coolest New Kid On the Block.
Absolute Sugar Shock.

A big Thank You to The South Philly Review, Philadelphia Weekly, The City Paper, South Street Beat, Philadelphia Magazine, HX Magazine , Out Traveler, The Philly Gay News, NFT (Not For Tourists) online guide, Channel 6 ABC Action News, CBS3.com, and GRID Magazine for their coverage of our store. Our fifteen minutes has begun.

WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS

GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE AVAILABLE
In any amount! Highly collectible! As big as European money! Purchase these beauties in our luxurious check out lane!

All About Us

Philadelphia AIDS Thrift is incorporated in Pennsylvania as a non-profit business. We are also a federally recognized 501c3 tax-exempt charitable organization (thanks IRS!). Our mission is to sell the lovely, useful and interesting stuff generous people donate to our thrift store and then distribute the proceeds to local organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Our current main beneficiary is the AIDS Fund. The AIDS Fund distributes money to twenty-nine AIDS agencies in the five county Philadelphia region. They pass on the money we give them every month with NO administrative costs taken out. They also organize the Philadelphia AIDS Walk every October and the monthly Gay Bingo fundraiser throughout the year. Thanks, AIDS Fund!

In addition to our cash contributions, Philly AIDS Thrift provides free store vouchers to Pilly area HIV/Aids service providers for distribution to clients in need of clothing assistance and household necessities. Thanks to the many local organizations that partner with us in this effort.

We are committed to making a difference in the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS. And to creating a store that serves this mission and is at the same time a good place to shop and fun place to be.

If you'd like to be a part of all this, there are many ways you can help.

We are in need of donations of all sorts. Basically, any re-sellable item in good shape will be welcomed, including : clothing, housewares, furniture, electronics, books, records, artwork and mystery tschotchkes. Any time the store is open we will gladly accept your donations.

We would not be able to run the store without our VOLUNTEERS, so if you have spare time and would like to join us please email us with "Volunteer" in the subject line. Or call us at 215.922.3186 and leave your info in the volunteer voice-mailbox. Either way, we will contact you ASAP.

And last but most we need Shoppers!

We Look Forward to Seeing You Soon!

Call us: 215 922-3186

Write us: phillyaidsthrift@aol.com

PS: We hope you'll take a moment to click on the links for FightAIDS@Home and BOINC (aka Rosetta@HOME) on the upper right of this page. These are two excellent research programs that harness the spare power of tens of thousands of individual computers to do important research for AIDS medicines and vaccines. It only takes minutes to download either of these programs, and they run in the background of your system while you are doing other work or while your computer is idle. Why not add your computer to the fight?

Philly AIDS Thrift Declares Triumphant Close to Summer of Drudge

2011-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Philly AIDS Thrift, the non-profit thrift store newly re-located to 710 S. 5th Street, ends the busiest summer of its history with a double celebration of two major milestones on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 23rd to 25th.

Store Manager Tom Brennan explains, “We realized as we were planning our 6th anniversary party for September that the store’s charitable contributions were passing another big, round number at the same time. When we presented our September check to the AIDS Fund we surpassed $300,000.00 in cash contributions to Philly area HIV/AIDS service organizations. This has been a crazy, back-breaking spring and summer for us with our move from our original store to our new bigger and better-in-every-way space at 710 South 5th St. We were feeling more like we’d been doing this for 300,000 years than like we’d raised 300,000 dollars. But we’re all moved in now and the response has been so enthusiastic that all the bad memories are being erased.

“Now we get the pleasant twist of fate of hitting 6 years and $300,000.00 in the same month. Thinking back on the tiny space we first opened with six years ago , it’s startling to look around the 10,000 square feet we have today. The total money raised tells the same story of steady growth for us. It took us three years to raise our first $100,000.00, two years to raise our second, and now we’ve raised our third hundred thousand in a single year. On top of that, our board just voted to increase our monthly contribution 25% , from our current $8,000.00 to $10,000.00 a month going forward.

"One thing we all agreed on before we committed to making the move was that we weren’t going through all that trauma and drama if it didn’t also result down the line in a doubling of our monthly contribution. With this first big bump up, we’re already on our way to fulfilling that goal faster than any of us expected. So yeah, definitely time for one of our trademark carbo-loading parties.”

Store Volunteer coordinator Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou firms up the party plans, ”I’m so glad we can take the time to recognize and thank our volunteers, donors and customers for making the move such a success and for making the last six years such an exciting and enjoyable time. We certainly wouldn’t have lasted these six years and raised the $300,000.00 without their combined efforts and patronage.

“We’re thanking them the only way we know how-- calories and discounts! We’ll have three days of snacks, food and refreshments, along with two big cakes, one each for the dual milestones. In addition we’ll have a different half-price sale each day. Friday it will be movies and music (i.e., records, tapes, cd’s , dvd’s) 50% off. Saturday it’s all artwork, frames and art supplies half-off, and Sunday it’s 50% off all books, magazines and comic books.

“As a very special extra treat, Philly’s very own favorite misbegotten son--Psydde Delicious, known on every dark backstreet and godforsaken avenue as the hardest working man in monkey business, will be our in-store DJ on Saturday afternoon from 1pm to 5pm. The store always holds high the banner of unpopular music from all bygone eras and all faded genres, so who better to wave that flag live and in person but the inimitable Mr. Delicious. I for one can’t wait to hear the sound canvas Psydde will paint for us, all those shades of black and blacker, with occasional dayglo and glitter highlights. The rest of the world might as well just shut down for those three days, everyone’s going to be here for sure. Maybe we should get three cakes. “

Philly AIDS Thrift celebrates SIX YEARS and THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, September 23rd to 25th at their new home, 710 S. 5th Street.

Philly AIDS Thrift opened its original store at 514 Bainbridge St. in the fall of 2005. It expanded to a warehouse sales and processing space at 527 Bainbridge in 2006. In July of 2011, it moved all its operations to 710 S. 5th Street. To date, Philly AIDS Thrift has donated $306,450.00 to Philly area AIDS service providers. In addition to its cash contributions it partners with these same service agencies to provide free store vouchers to clients in need of clothing and household necessities.

www.phillyaidsthrift.com

Psydde Delicious: www.psyddedelicious.com

Philly AIDS Thrift
710 S. 5th St
Philadelphia, Pa
19147

215.922.3186

Store Hours:

Mon-Thurs 11am-8pm
Fri & Sat 11am-9pm
Sunday 11am-7pm

Philly AIDS Thrift Has GOOD News and BIG News

2011-03-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

For Immediate Release

Philly AIDS Thrift Has GOOD News and BIG News

Philly AIDS Thrift, the non-profit thrift store benefiting Philly area HIV/AIDS service organizations has GOOD NEWS and BIG NEWS to announce in March 2011. Store Manager Tom Brennan explains, "The good news is that when we presented our monthly $8,000.00 check on stage to the AIDS Fund at Gay Bingo on Saturday night, March 12th, that check put us over $250,000.00 in total cash contributions to date. The big news is our entire store and processing operations are MOVING, we're not moving far and not right away, but this summer everything will be under one roof at our new home two hundred yards around the corner at 710 S.5th St. It's almost too much news for one small month, but there you have it."

Mr. Brennan provides more background and details on the money and the move, "We'll be taking over half the total area (with an option to take over more down the road) of a landmark of Philadelphia retail, the Kroungold's Furniture building. We'll have nearly 12,000 square feet on three floors and two basements, which is a doubling of the combined footage of our current store and warehouse.

"This will translate into a big boost in efficiency and, well, humanity for our processors who presently work in a warehouse space that's freezing in the winter and stifling in the summer. And our customers will see and feel a giant step up in comfort and convenience as we move to a space with room to spare for all the merchandise jamming our original store and warehouse from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. And finally, we wouldn't even undertake the move if we weren't also convinced it will mean a major bump up in charitable contributions over the course of the new lease.

"It's a huge undertaking for us, but in the end the deal was just too tempting to pass up. It will be sad leaving 514 Bainbridge and our landlords, the Hechts, whose understanding of our mission and willingness to take a leap of faith with our fledgling organization were vitally important to us in those early days, when our sole assets consisted of the few racks and shelves of donated items we opened our doors with in the fall of 2005. Five and a half years later we find ourselves topping $250,000.00 in store charitable contributions, and with enough money in the bank to finance this move to our new space.

"We do want to help however we can to keep our block of Bainbridge Street as vibrant as it has become during our time here, so let me send out a heads-up to anyone looking for space in the neighborhood--our original store and warehouse will be up for grabs when we make our move."

Store Volunteer Coordinator Christina Kallas gives a rundown of the more immediate plans,"Our current operations will remain unchanged till June when we will begin breaking in the new store and winding down the old one. By July 1st we'll be completely up and running at 710 S.5th St. How exciting and terrifying it all is. And anyone with an overwhelming urge to help us move a million or so things from one building to another this spring and early summer, you know here to find me, I'll be quietly sobbing in the back office of 514 Bainbridge St.

"But we're going to take a couple of days in the meantime to celebrate our time here on Bainbridge and what we've accomplished in the last five and a half years. So on Friday and Saturday, March 24th and 25th, we're going to say thank you to the shoppers, donors and volunteers who got us where we are with two days of food, refreshments, sales, prizes and surprises.

"Since we've hit a quarter million in cash donations we decided to commemorate that 25% of a million by making everything in the store 25% off on those two days (and if it's already on sale, take a further 25% off.) Maybe not our cleverest gimmick ever but I don't think anyone's going to complain about getting 25% off anything they buy!"

Philly AIDS Thrift opened its main store at 514 Bainbridge St in the fall of 2005. In 2006 it expanded to a warehouse sales and processing space at 527 Bainbridge. To date, Philly AIDS Thrift has donated $256,450.00 to Philly area AIDS service providers. In addition to its cash contributions, it partners with these same service agencies to provide free store vouchers to clients in need of clothing and household necessities.

www.phillyaidsthrift.com

Philly AIDS Thrift
514 Bainbridge St
Phila, Pa 19147
215.922.3186

phillyaidsthrif@aol.com