- A fire in May gutted Good Neighbor Place Thrift Store, halting its direct services but its lot still hosts meals and other services for the homeless.
- HOPE of Apopka served 53 people and distributed 93 to-go meals at a Christmas event on Sunday held outside the damaged thrift store.
- The building owner said he intends to restore and expand the structure to 5,500 sq. ft. with new facilities, targeting completion by March.
In May, a fire gutted the Good Neighbor Place Thrift Store on North Park Avenue, leaving the thrift store unable to continue serving the local low-income and homeless population.
However, as the Christmas season arrived, the charred remains didn’t stop the spirit of giving, as the thrift store’s parking lot continued to be a resource hub for the local homeless community.
Three Sundays of every month for nearly a year, the thrift store property has been the site of HOPE of Apopka’s efforts to serve meals to those experiencing homelessness. On Sunday, the grassroots organization celebrated Christmas with them, serving 53 people and distributing 93 to-go boxes filled with meals.
“Thanksgiving and Christmas, we do a big thing for them,” Kelly Eichner, HOPE of Apopka founder, said…