Lyndsi Brown of McDonough said she wants to use her new role to make a positive impact for families affected by domestic violence.

  “As a citizen and a part of this community, you don’t realize the people who need help the most,” said Brown, manager of the Blessings Thrift Store in McDonough. “Just like our customers, we want to do everything we can to help these survivors.”

  All proceeds at Blessings go toward the Haven House domestic-violence shelter.

  Brown, a native of Henry County, was named the manager of Blessings on September 8. She worked for 12 years as an assistant manager and then manager of Dressbarn, until the company closed last year.

  Brown said Blessings enables her to do more than “pushing sales goals.”

  “I’ve always worked in corporately owned stores, and I’ve always wanted to do something that was for something greater,” she said. “At the end of the day, Blessings is part of Haven House, and 100 percent of what we do is for Haven House. I just wanted to do something bigger.”

  Brown took over at Blessings following the recent retirement of longtime manager Beverly Barnes. Brown said she wants to build on the “amazing” example set by Barnes, and to educate the community about domestic violence.

  “There wasn’t anything that needed to be changed,” said Brown. “I just want people to know that our profits go toward Haven House. Myself as well as our two associates are wearing Haven House shirts, and throughout the store we have purple signage which is the color of domestic-violence awareness.

  “I have learned from our customers that they love this store,” continued Brown. “This is something that means a lot to them and the community around the store. Ms. Beverly was a part of that and I want to do everything I can to respect that. I’m not here to reinvent the wheel. Ms. Beverly was a respected person in the  community, and I look forward to making the same connections in the community that she did.”

  Brown and her staff accept donations daily from 9 a.m., to 4:30 p.m. Donated items go to clients and survivors at Haven House first, before being made available to the public.

  Brown said customers sometimes visit the store more than once in a given day, thanks in part to a rapidly changing inventory.

  “If there’s not an immediate need, that’s when it would go onto our sales floor and we would price it at a great value,” she said. “We try to get those donations onto the floor as soon as possible, if there’s not an immediate need for a survivor. That’s why they do come back, because we do move the products so quickly.”

  Katie Tucker is the executive director at Haven House. She said a number of new products and donated items are now available at Blessings, and that the store has restrictions in place to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Tucker said Brown’s experience, and her desire to help others, will continue the thrift store’s success.

  “She has an extensive retail background and a very giving heart,” said Tucker. “She’s excited to be a part of the Haven House family.”

  For more information, call 770-288-6503 or visit

https://www.loc8nearme.com/georgia/mcdonough/blessings-thrift-store/6031903/