ON THE COVER
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The volunteer staff of The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store, (from left to right) Paige Fogg, Trish Collins, Carol Collins, Sarah Yeager and Jackie Bond gather around the entrance of the store.
Almost daily, victims of domestic violence and abuse make use of the open door policy of The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store in Fayetteville.
Dalena Piearcy and her youngest daughter walked into The Purple Ribbon seeking help after leaving an abusive situation with her ex-husband who beat her and destroyed their home and belongings.
“Ms. Carol was standing right there and said ‘Welcome,’” Piearcy recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know how to say this.’ I wasn’t sure how to ask. She just walked over and gave me a big hug. She said ‘You’re not alone.’ It was a great relief.”
Right away, the owner, Trish Collins, set up an appointment to talk about the needs Piearcy was facing and got a list of essentials prepared for her, items particular to a survivor of domestic abuse — shampoo, soap, food, bed pillows and blankets, new clothes and shoes. Collins then showed Piearcy the clothes racks in the store and told her to take as many clothes as she needed for her and her family.
“I asked her, ‘Is there a limit?’,” Piearcy recalled. “And she said, ‘Honey, go get what you can use. Period.’”
By time Piearcy left, she had enough clothes for her family, a toiletry bag of essentials, frozen chicken breasts and groceries and a Walmart gift card to cover gas Collins had thrown in. Collins also offered to find a local dentist for Piearcy, some of which had been either chipped or knocked out by her abuser, who would help fix her teeth pro bono.
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
Trish Collins, the owner of The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store, sifts through and re-organizes racks of donated clothing, many of which are given to domestic violence victims.
Since the initial visit, Piearcy said the Collins family and The Purple Ribbon staff often call and check up on her to see how she’s doing and have gone out of their way to help her.
“You don’t have to feel like you’re being a burden to her,” Piearcy said. “They don’t judge you, y’know they’re like let’s get you through today and we can talk tomorrow. You don’t walk in without getting a lot of hugs. What they’re doing is really amazing.”
THE PURPLE RIBBON
Owned and operated by Collins with the help of a group of volunteers including her sister and mother, Carol, The Purple Ribbon (3826 North Front Street, Fayetteville) is dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence by providing aid and services to men, women or children in need.
Aptly titled, the purple ribbon symbolizes awareness for domestic violence.
The thrift store carries a wide variety of donated items including small appliances, furniture, kitchenware, clothes, books, crafts and electronics among various things. All of the profit from the thrift store goes to benefitting victims, and the store is run completely by volunteers — 90 percent of which are survivors of domestic abuse, Collins said.
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store is located 3826 North Front Street, Fayetteville, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“I’m a 19-year domestic violence survior and a single mother, and I love it here,” said Jackie Bond, senior salesperson at Ashley Furniture and longtime Purple Ribbon volunteer. “This organization will help you and help you. It’s so close to my heart and I’ve wanted to help in this area for a long time and this was my opportunity.”
One in four women will experience domestic violence during their lifetime, and men in the U.S. are victims of nearly 3 million physical assaults. Most instances of abuse go unreported. It takes an average of seven times before victims escape abuse, something Collins and The Purple Ribbon hope to reduce.
The store provides aid to people in Benton and Washington County. The store operates as an open door resource while open from Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for anyone seeking help refuge from abuse. Services available include a risk assessment to recognize the possibility of a life-threatening event, crisis intervention aid, passageway to law enforcement, emergency care kits, counseling and advocacy, help with civil legal needs and preparation of transitional and permanent housing resource referrals.
“Whenever I was growing up, I was raised to be seen and not heard,” Carol said. “When I was married to Trish’s dad I was kind of the same way, and this has opened me up. I love talking with people, they tell me their stories and I’ve sat and cried with them. It’s been amazing, I love being here and I think my daughter is just amazing.”
The inspiration for the thrift store came in the aftermath of Collins’s niece, Brandi Matthews, who fell victim to her abusive boyfriend in 2006 when she went missing.
Staff Photo Nick Brothers
The book section of The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store is dedicated to the memory of Brandi Matthews, Trish Collins’s niece who went missing in 2006 and was later murdered by her abusive boyfriend.
Numerous attempts to file a missing person’s report with different police agencies were blocked by technicalities, but after releasing photo and details of her disappearance were released, witnesses came forth with evidence that led to the arrest of the boyfriend, one of which reported seeing a man choking a woman on a bridge near Eldon, Mo.
Brandi’s remains were later found near that location, 3 years after her disappearance. Her absuer is now in prison.
At the time, Collins was making a successful living as a vendor for Walmart. Eventually, she began to feel unfulfilled. After taking some time off, she realized her call to helping other people and decided to build a nonprofit organization, The Purple Ribbon Thrift Store.
“Me and my family, between what we went through as well as their personal experiences — cause grew up with my dad being abusive to my mom — it’s a cycle,” Collins said. “Together we can help others who are going through this and they get to a point where they don’t have anyone, their families turn against them. So we felt like there were not enought resources to support the need. So I left my career of 15 years and started working on this.”
Staff photo Nick Brothers
Jackie Bond (left) and Paige Fogg (right) work together to organize and process newly donated items into the store. The staff of The Purple Ribbon are all volunteer.
In memory of Matthews, who was an avid reader and published poet, the book section of the store was dedicated to her during the opening ceremony of the store.
“Everyday I work in here I walk by her picture and she gives me strength to keep going because there are so many people out there that need our help,” Collins said. “Just seeing the success rate with the victims we’ve been able to help has been so rewarding in itself because I know we are making a difference.”
