Spend some time with Cindy Hanna, the manager of Nearly-Nu Thrift Shop, and you'll hear story after story of how the nonprofit has made a difference in the Manheim community.
There's the time she was shopping at a local store and the cashier told Hanna that Nearly-Nu had raised funds to pay her parents' mortgage for a month during a family illness. Or there were the Manheim Central High School girls who came in looking to buy items for the school's drama production, with $17 in their pockets. "I helped them find what they needed, and I told them to keep their $17," Hanna recalled.
Once, a woman came in right before Christmas, and Hanna soon learned the customer had lost everything in a fire. "She was worried about giving her children a nice Christmas," Hanna said. "I knew we had a Christmas tree in our basement, so I brought that up, and I gathered some decorations and lights. I helped her pick out things for her kids. By the time she left, we were both crying."
This is just some of the impact the thrift store has had on the community since it opened 40 years ago. Over the years, the store, located at 9 N. Main St., has given back almost $400,000 to more than 45 local organizations and individuals.
Nearly-Nu accepts community donations of clothing and household items, except for furniture. Donations can be dropped off at a bin on the store's back porch or brought inside when the store is open.
"We sell just about everything you could imagine," Hanna said. "I sold a bag of rocks once. I sold a bag of bottlecaps. I've sold things off our porch before they even got inside the building."
Items for sale include clothing in all sizes (even outfits for dogs), jewelry, purses, stuffed animals, DVDs, books and more.
"You won't believe what you'll find here," Hanna stated. "You never know what you're going to see. Everything is priced to sell."
Hanna is the only paid employee, and she relies on a team of volunteers to help sort, price and sell the inventory. "We are always looking for more volunteers," she said. "Our volunteers are so important."
Hanna, a lifelong Manheim resident, has been the store manager for about five years, and in that time, she's become friends with repeat customers, some of whom come from out of state to shop. She said she's seen firsthand how generous the Manheim community is, whether it's the plethora of donations that come in every day or the willingness of customers to pitch in and unpack boxes and hang up clothes to sell. "I love my job," she stated. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else."
For more information, search for "Nearly Nu" on Facebook.
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