Ethan Hoagland
Sweet Home’s Sugar City Gleaners are asking the community for help to replace their thrift store’s front door, after it was shattered during a break-in. Theresa Howard, the Chair of the Gleaners’ Board of Directors, said a man broke into their front door at about 5 a.m. Nov. 11, before a witness alerted police. A piece of plywood now faces out onto Main Street.
Howard said when customers notice the plywood, they’re confused about what happened but quickly want to help.
“One of them said, ‘Here’s $20,’ and put $20 in our little fishbowl that we keep for donations,” Howard said. “I think a lot of people would do that if they knew about it.” The Gleaners, a nonprofit organization, is facing a $725 bill to fix the door.
“We couldn’t get down here fast enough,” Howard said of the moment she got the call that the door had been smashed. “Thank God it was just the one door.”
Howard said they were able to rush a piece of plywood down to cover the door, as they handled a busy Saturday of business. On top of the cost, new heating had just been installed in the last year.
“At least it keeps part of the cold out,” Howard said. “This is the first year in 8 years that we’ve had heat in the building.”
When it comes to support, Howard said monetary donations will be the biggest help in getting the door replaced.
“I think if the community realized what happened, they would help us,” she said. As things stand, it’s unclear to Howard when the door could be fixed, but she hopes it could be repaired by the end of the month.
Davis Glass in Albany came out to take the measurements and give the Gleaners a quote, but Howard said she’s open to leads on cheaper offers.
For the Gleaners, the thrift store is their primary source of fundraising. Those funds help feed its low-income members from Sweet Home to Brownsville to Cascadia. It’s run entirely by volunteers.
Howard also expressed her gratitude to the witness who called the police.