The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley The Salvation Army held a grand opening celebration for its new Family Store and Donation Center at the Tygart Valley Mall Wednesday. Taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony were, from left, Salvation Army Major Tonya Roberts, Family Store Director Chris Flanagan, SA board member Robert Huffman, Salvation Army Major Eric Roberts, SA board members Greg Hadjis and Robert Matheny, and the Salvation Army Shield.

ELKINS — The Salvation Army of Elkins held a grand opening ceremony Wednesday for its new Family Store and Donation Center that is located in the Tygart Valley Mall.

The new facility will serve as the Salvation Army service center for the area. In addition to selling merchandise and accepting donations at the store, the expansion allows the center to give away food from its food pantry and provide social services out of the offices that are located onsite.

“We are thrilled to be having our grand opening today,” Major Eric Roberts, Corps Officer with the Salvation Army, told The Inter-Mountain. “We have a lot of great deals today and it’s nice to see people coming into the store and picking up some items.”

The store had a soft opening in February, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that everything was made available to the public. A decision to expand Elkins’ services to the community became available last summer when changes were made with other regional corps.

“We’ve been working on getting this location up and running for sometime,” said Roberts. “We probably started moving items in to get ready for this day back in November of last year.

“We’ve been working hard putting this together and it’s nice to see all the great benefits from it. We are thrilled to be able to offer everything we have to this community.”

Roberts’ wife, Tonya, who is also a major with the Salvation Army, was part of the ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration. Salvation Army Regional board members Greg Hadjis, Robert Matheny and Robert Huffman also attended the ceremony. Chris Flanagan, Service Extension and Family Store Director, was also on hand.

The Roberts have a combined 50 years of experience with the Salvation Army. They are part of the Clarksburg Command Center that also oversees Doddridge and Braxton counties.

The new location is currently open Wednesdays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day. Roberts says he hopes the store can expand its hours in the future. He said it will depend on how quickly he can find more employees and volunteers to work at the store.

For more information on the Salvation Army of Elkins, go to its Facebook page or call 304-622-2360.