Philly AIDS Thrift continues fight against HIV/AIDS in Philadelphia

The exterior of Philly AIDS Thrift, located on South 5th Street in South Philadelphia, radiates bright and lively on a gloomy and rainy Tuesday afternoon, April 25, 2017.

When most people think “shopping,” they probably don’t think “HIV testing” — unless they’re thinking about Philly AIDS Thrift.

Upon walking into Philly AIDS, as many people call it, located on South 5th Street in South Philadelphia, each person is greeted by a smiling volunteer and an array of objects, ranging from jewelry and clothing to knick-knacks and furniture. And so much more.

The strange site of a Barney costume head sitting on a dressed mannequin greets customers as one of the first things they would see upon entering Philly AIDS Thrift.

The thrift store was opened in 2005 with the combined efforts of Tom Brennan, Mike Wilson, Peter Hylar and Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, all of whom consider themselves HIV/AIDS activists. Kallas-Saritsoglou says that they all grew up when HIV/AIDS was a real crisis and people were dying left and right.

In addition to their passion for HIV/AIDS activism, the four co-founders all shared an appreciation for “found treasures.”

“This is something that’s just been kind of close to our hearts — we have friends who have died from the disease,” she said. “We just wanted to do something that was fun and creative, but also gives back and helps people.”

Wanting to do more with their HIV/AIDS activism, in June of 2015, Philly AIDS launched a 300-square-foot HIV Testing Center on the second floor of its store, making it the first and only retailer with a dedicated HIV testing facility in Philadelphia, Kallas-Saritsoglou says.

“Having a testing site in an area that doesn’t have anything else like it helps normalize the concept,” she said. “It removes the stigmas associated with it.”

The center serves as a facility for Action AIDS, Bebashi, GALAEI, Mazzoni Center and Philadelphia FIGHT to provide patients with free, walk-in rapid testing and counseling services on a rotating basis.

Philly AIDS is incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania as a non-profit business and is also a federally recognized 501(c)3 tax-exempt charitable organization, thanks to the IRS, as stated on the store’s website.

Philly AIDS Thrift makes monthly donations to the AIDS Fund; the store’s total of money donated to date is displayed for all to see on the first level of the store. The store is about to hit $2 million dollars donated since 2005.

This one of a kind thrift store makes a monthly donation of $20,000 to the AIDS Fund, which distributes that money to 29 different AIDS organizations in the Philadelphia region with no administrative costs taken out beforehand, also according to Philly AIDS’ website.

Philadelphia is home to about 30,000 people living with AIDS, with an infection rate of five times the national average and is also 50 percent higher than New York City residents, according to the AIDS Fund. So the need for HIV/AIDS activism and normalization in Philadelphia is at an all-time high.

Philly AIDS announced in the beginning of April of this year that a total of $174,842 in special grants will be awarded to 23 HIV/AIDS service groups in the Philadelphia region, making the organization’s total cash contributions to HIV/AIDS just shy of $2 million dollars to date.

In additions to all that the store already does, store vouchers are provided to Philly area HIV/AIDS service providers for distribution to different clients that are in need of clothing assistance and household necessities, according to the store’s website.

A Philly AIDS customer reaches for a knick-knack on one of the many shelves on the first floor of the store, storing a large portion of the store’s “hidden treasures.”

Two vital components of the Philly AIDS store are its volunteers and its shoppers, also stated on the store’s website. The store currently has about 100 volunteers and 20 paid staff members, says Kallas-Saritsoglou.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the community around us,” Andrew Shumway, a Philly AIDS retail volunteer, says during a phone interview. “We don’t work for pay, and what we make from sales, we donate.”

Shumway, 32, says he’s been working for Philly AIDS for the past two years. “The store is a bit of a maze, and each room is designated for certain categories: vintage stuff, furniture, clothes, shoes, Christmas tchotchkes — you name it.”

Shumway says the prices are “dirt cheap, especially in Dollar Land,” which is an entire room on the second floor set aside for $1 items. “I try to avoid it because I always end up buying a bunch of stuff — but it’s fine, it’s for a really important cause.”

Knick-knacks and chotskies sit on a shelf among many others on the first floor of first floor of Philly AIDS, storing a large portion of the store’s “hidden treasures.”

Philly AIDS has literally everything a person might need, and everything is generously donated by community members. The store has clothes and jewelry, knick-knacks and furniture, as previously stated, but the store also carries an array of other items such as kitchenware, records and tapes, books, Christmas decorations, and as Kallas-Saritsoglou calls them, “hidden treasures.”

Philly AIDS opens its doors everyday at 11 a.m., seven days a week. Its HIV Testing Center is open on the first and third Sunday, second and fourth Friday, and every Saturday of the month from 12 to 4 p.m.

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Text by Courtney Redmon
Photography by Sydney Schaefer