Salvation Army renovation begins

The Salvation Army announced it is about to start renovations on the Havre Salvation Army Thrift Store.

A clearance sale is set next week and the store’s the grand re-opening is planned for the spring.

Salvation Army said in a press release the renovations will start Monday.

The Havre Salvation Army Thrift Store will also be open for a clearance sale Friday, Jan. 25, and Saturday, 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, Salvation Army Capt. Jonathan Harvey said, with everything within the store heavily discounted.

“It will give folks in the community an opportunity to purchase those items at drastically reduced prices and also give us a clean slate from which to work,” he said.

Renovation on the exterior of the building will have already begun during the time of the clearance sale, he said, although the work should not hinder customers entering the store.

After the clearance sale takes place the Salvation Army will move forward with full renovation.

Salvation Army closed its Havre thrift store last September, announcing it was shifting to primarily volunteer workers in the store and doing renovations including removing lead-based paint and asbestos.

The release this week announced Salvation Army contracted with CK Builders and Valley Furniture and Flooring to renovate the building.

Salvation Army Capt. Jonathan Harvey said Wednesday that CK Builders will renovate the exterior of the building, modernizing and updating the look, while Valley Furniture will remodel the interior, installing new floors and fixtures, repainting and improving the lighting for the store.

“It will be a whole new look on the inside,” Harvey said. “We are very excited. We could not be more excited. We love the city of Havre.”

The Salvation Army wants to continue to serve the community, he said, and to be as strong financially as they can to serve the community. He said he believes the remodeling to be an investment and will be a great step in having a community-based store.

The new store will be better able to serve Havre and in a stronger position to serve more people than ever before. An upgraded storefront will bring in more customers and using volunteers and paying less in wages will send more money to the Salvation Army services.

“For me it is always a joy to be able to see a new birth, a new life and renewed energy,” Harvey said, “so, I’m looking forward to seeing those things take place.

Harvey said they have not yet collected a volunteer team to work in the Salvation Army Thrift Store after the renovations are completed. Although, he added, they have a strong volunteer base already in Havre. He said people who would like to volunteer can contact volunteer coordinator Karen Lynch.

The Salvation Army wanted to make sure construction was in place so they have something to work from, Harvey said, before they decided when to start training volunteers. Now that the renovations are underway, he added, volunteers are welcomed to apply.

This is really ground zero of the new rebirth of the Salvation Army store in Havre, Harvey said.

“It’s an exciting new step for the community,” he said. “We are just a conduit in many ways to providing help for people. We provide an opportunity for people to serve in volunteerism, we provide opportunity to receive help. We are just excited to be that place where people can serve and be served.”