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Mel Trotter adding three new thrift stores

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Mel Trotter Ministries has announced it will be adding three new thrift stores and a new distributing warehouse.

The organization is expanding its thrift stores with an $800,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it said in a Monday release. It said it will also be adding 32 full-time and part-time jobs.

There are currently five Mel Trotter thrift stores in Kent County and one in Ottawa county. The thrift stores help support Mel Trotter Ministries, which serves people who are homeless in West Michigan.

“I couldn’t be happier for Mel Trotter Thrift and our residents who shop and work at the stores,” said Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, who supported the organization for its grant application, said in the release. “Mel Trotter has partnered with the city of Grand Rapids in addressing homelessness for 122 years. This grant is a win-win and will allow Mel Trotter to further its services to the residents in our area while boosting the overall economy.”