Wait. Don't throw away the strange-colored sweater from Aunt Mary or those action figures from the '90s or that extra couch you have in the garage.
Think green and donate it for a good cause at the new Savers in Marana.
The store, on West Costco Drive near North Thornydale Road, opened on Sept. 13. It's the third Savers to open in the Tucson metropolitan area by the national thrift-store chain. One store is on East Broadway across from Park Place and the other store is near East Fort Lowell and North Oracle roads.
On a recent Monday afternoon, the store was bright and clean. Items from socks to sofas were neatly organized. Maybe that's not what you expect at a thrift store, but manager Scott Burkett said it's what sets it apart.
"We want to keep the shelves full and fresh every day," he said.
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Annette Green, 34, walked out of the store with a full shopping cart. Green had five or six bags of sale items. "I get things for my family and things that might be of interest on eBay," said Green, a stay-at-home mom. She said the items she sells on eBay help supplement the family income. "They have a lot of name brand things that are still in style," she said.
Savers has partnered with local non-profits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson and the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center. Savers buys items donated to both organizations in bulk. In the store production room, employees sort through the donations and look for salable items. The items the store doesn't keep are sold to developing nations or recycling companies. Donation bins are set up inside the store; each organization has other donation sites.
"The money that we generate from this project is spent directly to help child victims of abuse and their families, as well as to provide education to children to keep them safe from abuse," said Wilene M. Lampert, executive director of the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center.
Dave Greene, director of the donation center for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson, said, "We can use these unrestricted funds for recruiting, training and maintaining one-to-one relationships between the volunteers and the children."
Do the Green Thing
Where: Savers.
Location: 3949 W. Costco Drive.
Phone: 297-3779.
Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
Other donation sites
Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson: www.tucsonbigs.org. Click on donation center.
Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center: www.soaz advocacy.org. Click on clothing donation.
