Small Family Business Flooded
Donation protected
Hi, My name is Kim , my fiance' and I own KJ's Used Electronics Thrift Store in Sultan , WA. We are a small family owned and operated business, We have two kids Jacob (11 going to be 12 on the 29th) and Ashley 10, who help us out in the store after school and on Saturdays.
We opened our used electronics thrift store in Februrary of this year. We sell and repair electronics as well as a fully stocked thrift store. We chose to open our store in Sultan ,Wa , as we wanted to help out a growing community and since there are no other thrift stores in town we thought it would be great. We didn't think of the threat of a flood since there hasn't been one this bad in 10 years, Also never having a home or business in a flood area before, we did not get flood insurance. We did not recieve any loans ,grants or donations to start our store, we used our own belongings as well as buying merchandise, shelveing, security system and much more. We did not start recieving items for donations untill after we had opened. So we have invested our lives into this store for the last 10 months . Since both Neal and I work in the store, Him being the repair technician and muscle to move items around behind the scenes and me being in the front for customer service and cashier, we rely on the store for our income. And now there is no income coming in ,just money going out for expenses for cleanup and bills.
On Tuesday Novemeber 17th, 2015 our store flooded with several other homes and business in Sultan, Wa. We had 2-3 feet of water throughout our building which is 2500 sq.feet of space and very full of merchandise. The water damaged the furniture, electronics and miscellanious merchandise . The display racks are warping as they dry out, all the clothing has to rewashed and dried. We will have to replace the carpet as well ,as it is just not drying out. Our electricty and gas bills will be extra high with the fans and heaters going 24/7. We will be closed until this can all be done and we disinfect every item so no mold grows or spreads. This is going to be a huge hardship on us financially with bIlls for the store and our home still being due.
We need funds to help pay these expenses so we can remodel and clean the store up.
November is the start of the holiday season and we anticipated being very busy, instead we lost almost everything and have to start over. We needs funds as soon as possible so we can re-open before the holidays are over.
My fiance' Neal has a heart condition and the stress of this is very hard on him. We recently had to use the small savings we did have so I could stay home and care for him for a few days after a heart attack in September. The sooner we can get the store back ,the sooner he will relax and his health will be better and we can help out the people in our community again.
If you can not donate money , please donate your gently used items so we can get our inventory rebuilt. Also please share with your friends and family.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story.
God Bless and be safe this holiday season.
Kj's USed Electronic Thrift Store,
Kim, Neal, Jacob and Ashley
We opened our used electronics thrift store in Februrary of this year. We sell and repair electronics as well as a fully stocked thrift store. We chose to open our store in Sultan ,Wa , as we wanted to help out a growing community and since there are no other thrift stores in town we thought it would be great. We didn't think of the threat of a flood since there hasn't been one this bad in 10 years, Also never having a home or business in a flood area before, we did not get flood insurance. We did not recieve any loans ,grants or donations to start our store, we used our own belongings as well as buying merchandise, shelveing, security system and much more. We did not start recieving items for donations untill after we had opened. So we have invested our lives into this store for the last 10 months . Since both Neal and I work in the store, Him being the repair technician and muscle to move items around behind the scenes and me being in the front for customer service and cashier, we rely on the store for our income. And now there is no income coming in ,just money going out for expenses for cleanup and bills.
On Tuesday Novemeber 17th, 2015 our store flooded with several other homes and business in Sultan, Wa. We had 2-3 feet of water throughout our building which is 2500 sq.feet of space and very full of merchandise. The water damaged the furniture, electronics and miscellanious merchandise . The display racks are warping as they dry out, all the clothing has to rewashed and dried. We will have to replace the carpet as well ,as it is just not drying out. Our electricty and gas bills will be extra high with the fans and heaters going 24/7. We will be closed until this can all be done and we disinfect every item so no mold grows or spreads. This is going to be a huge hardship on us financially with bIlls for the store and our home still being due.
We need funds to help pay these expenses so we can remodel and clean the store up.
November is the start of the holiday season and we anticipated being very busy, instead we lost almost everything and have to start over. We needs funds as soon as possible so we can re-open before the holidays are over.
My fiance' Neal has a heart condition and the stress of this is very hard on him. We recently had to use the small savings we did have so I could stay home and care for him for a few days after a heart attack in September. The sooner we can get the store back ,the sooner he will relax and his health will be better and we can help out the people in our community again.
If you can not donate money , please donate your gently used items so we can get our inventory rebuilt. Also please share with your friends and family.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story.
God Bless and be safe this holiday season.
Kj's USed Electronic Thrift Store,
Kim, Neal, Jacob and Ashley
Organizer
Kim Helm
Organizer
Sultan, WA
