USA

Marcel opened Drop Inn Thrift Store on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria last week, the first location in the U.S. for the thrift stores that help fund some of the works of Northern Ireland-based Drop Inn Ministries.  The initial goods at the store — furniture, clothing and various knickknacks — were imported from overseas via Drop Inn Ministries. They know what my burden is, what I felt God put on me,” Fulton said. “So they are backing what you see right here.” Fulton’s family has been involved with Drop Inn Ministries since it was established 17 years ago as a place for youths in Northern Ireland to go instead of the pub or getting involved in drugs or crime. It has since grown to fund things such as schools, medical treatment centers, churches and orphanages in more than a dozen countries. Fulton, the only one in his family not born in Northern Ireland, served for nearly a decade at England Air Force Base in Alexandria.

After leaving the military, he moved back to Alexandria and bought Precision Tune Auto Care. Looking for a cause to support locally, he found one in his own experience as a recovering alcoholic. All proceeds from the thrift store will go toward building or purchase of a halfway house for people recovering from substance-abuse problems. There are not enough such facilities to meet the need locally, he said. We saw the need for a halfway house, more importantly a Christ-centered halfway house,” Fulton said. “You look around and you say, ‘What do we do with these people? How do we help them?’ We’ve got to have more places to place them. Fulton’s plans are for a facility focused especially on women. Fulton says initial response to the store has been “beyond our expectations up to this point.” The next challenge is to start securing locally donated goods to keep the store successful.
There is not going to be a continual flow of furniture from Northern Ireland,” Fulton said. That would be too expensive. We have to rely on donations, it’s the only way we can survive. If you have a garage sale, what do you do with the stuff you don’t sell? Bring it to us. If you have anything large, we’ll try to make arrangements to come pick it up.” Fulton said there are plans to open several more Drop Inn-affiliated stores in Louisiana, including one more in the Alexandria-Pineville area.  Marcel opened Drop Inn Thrift Store on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria last week, the first location in the U.S. for the thrift stores that help fund some of the works of Northern Ireland-based Drop Inn Ministries.

The initial goods at the store — furniture, clothing and various knickknacks — were imported from overseas via Drop Inn Ministries. They know what my burden is, what I felt God put on me,” Fulton said. “So they are backing what you see right here.” Fulton’s family has been involved with Drop Inn Ministries since it was established 17 years ago as a place for youths in Northern Ireland to go instead of the pub or getting involved in drugs or crime.  It has since grown to fund things such as schools, medical treatment centers, churches and orphanages in more than a dozen countries. Fulton, the only one in his family not born in Northern Ireland, served for nearly a decade at England Air Force Base in Alexandria.After leaving the military, he moved back to Alexandria and bought Precision Tune Auto Care. Looking for a cause to support locally, he found one in his own experience as a recovering alcoholic.

All proceeds from the thrift store will go toward building or purchase of a halfway house for people recovering from substance-abuse problems. There are not enough such facilities to meet the need locally, he said. We saw the need for a halfway house, more importantly a Christ-centered halfway house,” Fulton said. “You look around and you say, ‘What do we do with these people? How do we help them?’ We’ve got to have more places to place them. Fulton’s plans are for a facility focused especially on women. Fulton says initial response to the store has been “beyond our expectations up to this point.” The next challenge is to start securing locally donated goods to keep the store successful.

There is not going to be a continual flow of furniture from Northern Ireland,” Fulton said. That would be too expensive. We have to rely on donations, it’s the only way we can survive. If you have a garage sale, what do you do with the stuff you don’t sell? Bring it to us. If you have anything large, we’ll try to make arrangements to come pick it up.”Fulton said there are plans to open several more Drop Inn-affiliated stores in Louisiana, including one more in the Alexandria-Pineville area.