Now here's a story that stopped me dead in my tracks. Literally. This afternoon, I was enjoying a late lunch down by the water in Belfast. My pager went off, so I went to the nearest payphone. This was at the Main Street Market. One of the petitioners was there to collect signatures. I hadn't even heard the news yet, so was dumbfounded. I can understand that they might not be making a real go of it, what with the high rent on High Street, but I'd think they'd try to find a cheaper location to carry on. Or they could more or less do what they did in Rockland, and have a capital campaign to fund a new store building.
As a person who is not a member of the Salvation Army, or of any other church, I didn't feel it was my place to sign a petition demanding that they continue to devote their resources to a nonviable undertaking. But I do hope that, within a few years, there will be another non-profit thrift store in town. I'll need some new clothes by then. (I'm not kidding: I got several pairs of pants and a couple of nice shirts for work there a couple of years ago.)
Peace,
Tor
Categories: Maine, charities
