Second Hand Rose to Close for Renovations
From Washington Gorge Action Programs:
By Tamara Kaufman
Bingen, WA. February 13, 2025 — In a long-anticipated move, Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) will start phase one of a remodel plan for its main office at 115 W Steuben Street in Bingen. The project targets creating a better footprint for the many programs under its umbrella, opening up some needed office and conference spaces to improve client services.
The process will begin with temporarily displacing Second Hand Rose. The publicly available community thrift store also acts as a program hub by offering vouchers to community members who need to shop for quality, gently used clean clothing and household items. All programs at WAGAP can refer clients to the store to help meet some basic needs.
Effective February 22, the store will close. The reopening date is undetermined, but staff is hopeful the renovations will cause minimal disruptions.
Second Hand Rose Rachel and Heidi
“During renovations, our goal is to continue to offer quality service, and we will retain a Second Hand Rose closet to help meet client needs,” said Jennifer Pauletto, WAGAP’s executive director. “This will include basic supplies we can keep on hand in the limited space available in our storage areas.”
The stop-gap measure will only be open to internal departments. During the store’s closure, the public will not have access to shopping, but there will be some options for donating key items.
“We hope to have donation opportunities one or two days a month to receive staple items like kids’, women’s, and men’s warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, coats, hats, gloves, socks, winter shoes, and boots to help keep programs running smoothly,” said Rachel Johnson, coordinator of Second Hand Rose. “We are working out the logistics now and will post on social media and share in the WAGAP newsletter when we have more details.”
The renovation will streamline the Second Hand Rose footprint. The revised smaller space will help the store cut costs and stay operational as a mainstay on the Bingen shopping corridor while continuing to serve the most vulnerable community members.
The renovation is part of the work the building's owner is doing to refresh the structure, and Pauletto is very grateful it is being done at no charge to the Community Action Agency. “We are so appreciative to have wonderful people in the community who take our nonprofit into consideration when making improvements like this,” she said.
“It will be exciting to reopen with a fresh new look and layout and a renewed outlook on how best to serve the community,” Johnson added.
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Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Community Action Agency that helps individuals, families, and communities. WAGAP addresses basic human needs, including food, shelter, energy assistance, and more, in Skamania and Klickitat Counties. For more than 50 years, WAGAP has helped people help themselves and reach self-sufficiency. Learn more at wagap.org, or contact WAGAP at (509) 493-2662 or info@wagap.org.
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