A crowd of excited shoppers, all wearing masks, began lining up at 8AM on Saturday morning in hopes of being the first to see the secondhand treasures at Blue Ridge Hospice’s brand-new thrift shop at 609 E Main St in Purcellville, Virginia. This is their ninth shop in the Northern Shenandoah Valley and the third shop located in Loudoun County.
Blue Ridge Hospice, a local nonprofit organization that provides end of life care and free grief support to the community, is known locally for the large selection and quality items at their area thrift shops. Angela Fishel, the Director of Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Operations, says these are not your typical thrift shops, “we receive such high-quality donations from the community that it feels like you are shopping in a boutique instead of a thrift shop, but with surprisingly low prices.”
“I think our customers feel a sense of pride when they shop at our stores because they know that they are contributing to a great cause,” says Fishel. All proceeds from the shops go towards providing end of life care to everyone in the community, and no one is ever turned away for inability to pay. “We have a patient care fund that we use for any patient who doesn’t have insurance or the funds to pay for hospice care. We have been in this community for almost 40 years and we have never had to turn anyone away. That is, in large part, because of the income we receive from our thrift shops.”
In attendance at the Grand Opening was Tony Howard, the President and CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce and Tip Stinnette the Vice Mayor of the Town of Purcellville. “I’ve done a few of these [ribbon cuttings] and it’s absolutely amazing to see the community. I’ve never seen so many people come out to one of these. We consider [Blue Ridge] Hospice to be an integral part of the community,” said Stinnette before cutting the ribbon and officially opening the shop doors.
