Volunteers of America is closing all of its thrift stores in the area

The Volunteers of America Thrift Store in Batavia's Eastown Plaza is one of 11 thrift stores closing in the region.

Volunteers of America Upstate New York announced the closings yesterday. All of the stores will be closed by the end of September.

Six employees currently work at the Batavia store. The organization is working with local employment agencies to assist them with finding another job.

JoAnne Ryan, president and CEO, said increased competition in the resale industry is one of the main reasons for closing the thrift stores.

"The competition in this arena has gotten extremely expansive and that has created a huge challenge for us to maintain at that level of competition," Ryan said. "Mainstream resale companies have a greater latitude with discounting. Their prices would press against our prices and that compression factor really made it hard to compete."

The harsh winter also led to a steady decline in sales.

With the closing of its thrift stores, Volunteers of America is looking to expand their programs that help families, children and the homeless. The organization doesn't offer child care or housing services for Genesee County residents. But according to Ryan, Genesee County residents can take part in their residential re-entry program, a program that helps individuals completing a federal prison sentence transition back into their community.