Remodeled Grove City Walmart celebrates with donations to nonprofits
May 14—PINE TOWNSHIP — After three months of construction, the Grove City Walmart has finished its renovation and to mark its reopening Friday, they made sure to celebrate with the community.
To help get the celebration started, the staff and vendors at Walmart welcomed visitors with free samples of cupcakes, drinks and other goodie bags. Then some members of staff, including store manager Thomas Aaron, held a presentation to celebrate the reopening.
"We did it," Aaron said. "We want to thank our customers and community, but we also want to thank the staff. Without them none of this would have been imaginable."
To thank the community, the Walmart handed out donations to three local organizations:
—$2,500 went to the Mercer County Sheriff's Association. This group has worked with Walmart in the past, mainly for the annual "Shop With A Cop" Christmas event. The association's Tim Callahan said the money would go toward its "Shop With A Cop" event this year and other activities.
—Lakeview Public Library received $2,000 for its summer reading program. The library's new director, Katelyn Struthers, accepted the check and told the crowd that the money would go a long way toward getting new books and volunteers for the program.
—Walmart gave $1,500 to Grove City Area Pet Rescue. Although no representative was there to collect the check, Aaron said the money was to help the nonprofit with any expenses it has. He said the store would continue working with the pet rescue, and that 11 members of its staff were already regular volunteers with the organization.
After the checks were presented Mayor Randy Riddle and Walmart associates of more than 30 years took the stage for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
"On behalf of the entire Grove City community, congratulations on the remodel and your grand reopening," Riddle said.
The ceremony closed with an employee chant as they got ready to head back to work.
The reason for the celebration — the renovation — brought major improvements to sections of the store, as well as the building overall. The design itself was freshened by repainting all the walls white and adding new white and blue signs and new LED lighting. All the flooring was replaced with a new tile, and nearly every aisle in the store was widened.
Other upgrades :
—An expansion of departments with a diverse variety of products, including gluten-free groceries and expanded bakery rack
—An updated apparel department with new fixtures, fitting rooms and products lines.
—An expanded and updated electronics department with more demo products
—An expanded pet department including fresh pet food selection.
—Additional room for online orders to be fulfilled more quickly, including more parking spaces and an expanded online purchase room.
—Renovated bathrooms and the addition of a mothers room that gives nursing mothers a private spot to feed their babies
—An expanded pharmacy with private screening rooms.
"These staff, they just mean everything to me. They are my loves. They support me as much as I support them," Aaron, the store manager, said. "None of this would be possible without them, and I hope they know how much I appreciate each and every one of them."
