Important News About Our Merle Hay Location
A New Season of Building
To Our Faithful Many Hands Family,
In every journey of impact, there are seasons to plant, seasons to tend, and seasons to prune so greater fruit can grow. Today, I want to share an important strategic step we are taking with our Des Moines metro operations.
After much prayer and discernment, we have decided to conclude our operations at the Many Hands Thrift Market on Merle Hay Road. Our final day of sales at this location will be Sunday, November 8.
While saying goodbye to a physical space always carries weight, we are stepping into this transition with tremendous excitement and peace. When we look at the bigger picture of what God is calling us to build in this next chapter, this move is a massive win for our mission and our team:
Our People Are Protected: People will always be at the heart of our mission. Every member of our Merle Hay staff has been offered a position at one of our other three metro locations. We are keeping our team intact, standing shoulder to shoulder as we move forward.
Strengthening Our Existing Engines: Consolidating our efforts allows us to pour more energy, leadership, and focus into our existing stores. Specifically, this empowers our teams to process more donations to the sales floor faster, multiplying the fuel that drives our local and global work.
Positioning for Future Expansion: Stepping back from this space frees up our operational capacity and positions us to actively seek out our next strategic store location in the greater Des Moines area as we look toward future growth.
When I think about our time at the Merle Hay store since opening those doors in November 2021, my heart overflows with gratitude. A building is just concrete and steel until people fill it with purpose. Over the past five years, this space has become a true sanctuary of radical hospitality and a vibrant Generosity Engine.
None of those memories would have been possible without you—our customers, donors, staff, and volunteers who shopped, donated, and served to ignite generosity in our community.
I especially want to recognize Melissa Tafta and Stephanie Johnson, who have served as our Store Managers at Merle Hay from the very beginning. Melissa and Stephanie have poured their hearts, sweat, and prayers into every square foot of this building. Because of their faithful leadership, thousands of people walked through those doors and felt the tangible touch of love and kindness.
Melissa Tafta 
Stephanie Johnson
Important Dates & Details to Know:
Donations: We have ceased accepting donations at the Merle Hay location effective immediately. However, our Generosity Engine is still running at full throttle! You can drop off your donations at our locations in Grimes, Clive, Jordan Creek, and Indianola.
Final Day of Sales: Our last day of shopping at Merle Hay will be Sunday, November 8.
We would love to see you in the store over the next couple of weeks. Come walk the aisles one more time, grab some incredible deals before we transition the remaining inventory to our other locations, and help us celebrate everything God has done through this space.
This is not a goodbye. It is simply a "see you soon" right down the road as we continue transforming together, to be love in action, in a broken world.
Gratefully,
Tim Brand
Founder & CEO, Many Hands
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