In May, three family members opened a thrift shop in Richland with one purpose in mind to improve their community by helping abused youths.

The owners of Atomic City Thrift are brothers Aaron and Daniel Croskrey and their cousin Jeremiah Croskrey, all of Richland. The shop is located at 1420 Jadwin Avenue, across from the Uptown Shopping Center.

A portion of the proceeds from the shop will be given to Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery’s ‘Taming the Dragons’ program, and to Mirror Ministries.

“We know the founders of Mirror Ministries, which helps survivors of the sex trade put their lives back together. We feel very strongly about their work in the community,” Aaron Croskrey said. “So when we decided to open a thrift store, making a commitment to help support these two organizations was something we knew we wanted to do.”

Mirror Ministries runs a Survivor Services program serving the diverse needs of survivors of human trafficking. This starts with specialized human trafficking advocates trained to help trafficking survivors coordinate with resources and agencies within the community. They also educate the about the problems of the sex trade and engage in outreach programs throughout the community.

Mirror Ministries’ long-term goal is to create a residential program to provide a continuum of care, including trauma-focused therapy, and speak to the spiritual and emotional needs of each survivor.

“Our donations will help make it possible for Mirror Ministries to make these services possible,” Aaron Croskrey said.

Safe Harbor runs several programs in the Tri-Cities. The organization’s Taming the Dragons program provides support for toddlers to teens who have been affected by abuse and trauma. Childhood trauma can have a lifelong impact on everything from health to careers to relationships. Services like Taming the Dragons can help traumatized youth learn techniques to heal.

The Croskrey family is no stranger to running a thrift shop. Years ago Aaron Croskrey’s father, Nathan, and uncle, David, ran New Beginnings.

“It was on Lee Boulevard so you might say we haven’t fallen far from the tree,” Aaron Croskrey joked.

Before opening Atomic City Thrift, the three men spent about a month going around to yard sales and asking for donations.

“People were incredibly generous. Those donations gave us enough merchandise to open our doors,” Aaron Croskrey said.

Atomic City Thrift has a wide mix of items including clothes, electronics, exercise equipment, toys and a large book and comic section.

Donations of gently used items can be dropped off at the Jadwin store during regular business hours, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

They can pick up larger donations with advance notice.

“It’s a fun job and people appreciate our goal of helping these nonprofits. If people come in and take advantage of what we have to sell it’ll be a win-win for everyone,” Aaron Croskrey said.

Atomic City Thrift is located at 1420 Jadwin Ave., Richland. Reach the business at 509-946-1221, email [email protected] or find the business on Facebook.