For the City Times

WATERTOWN – Bethesda Lutheran Communities will close its Bethesda Thrift Shop in Wisconsin Rapids on Dec. 30, 2017.

The YMCA and Boys & Girls Club announced this summer plans to buy the Rapids Mall, where the thrift shop is located at 555 W. Grand Ave., and convert it into a health, fitness and learning center. As a result, current tenants of the mall were asked to cease operations by the end of December and vacate their spaces by the end of January 2018.

“We want to thank the Wisconsin Rapids community for all the support they have given us through the years,” said Paul Gieschen, corporate director of retail operations for Bethesda. “We are also incredibly grateful to our volunteers. The Rapids shop has been 100 percent volunteer-run from day one.”

The Wisconsin Rapids thrift shop will offer special discounts leading up to the store’s closing: 50 percent, Nov. 24-30; 75 percent, Dec. 1-16; and 90 percent, Dec. 18-30. Additionally, the shop’s Christmas store will offer the following discounts: 50 percent, Nov. 24 -Dec. 2; 75 percent, Dec. 3 -16; and 90 percent, Dec. 18-20.

Bethesda operates thrift shops in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin, where it has stores in Appleton, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Hales Corners, Horicon, Madison, Neenah, Sheboygan, Watertown, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids.