Thrift store has higher mission than selling discount merchandise

Image courtesy of somebodysattic.org

Clothing (both new and used), jewelry, heirlooms, even furniture are all available at Somebody’s Attic. The thrift store has two locations: 39 West 100 North in Logan and 3 South Main in Smithfield. The thrift store opened in 1985 by a group of concerned citizens and it’s purpose is to give financial help to two other non-profit agencies.

Joy Shaw manages the store and has been actively involved with its mission since 1994. The second-hand store not only provides merchandise for low-income families, but also provides funds to organizations who strive to end abuse.

“Our primary purpose is to fund abuse prevention and intervention agencies,” Shaw explained on <a href=”http://610kvnu.com/assets/podcaster/328/2013_02_21_328_8591_2867.mp3″ target=”_blank”>KVNU’s Crosstalk program Wednesday</a>. “The Child and Family Support Center and CAPSA needed a source of private funding long term so Somebody’s Attic is a non-profit thrift store designed specifically for the purpose of raising funds for CAPSA, Child and Family Support Center and any abuse-prevention agency.”

Shaw said 99% of the funds go to those two organizations, totaling well over $1 million since 1987. Shaw said few people realize how closely the three agencies work together in an effort to prevent abuse and help victims of abuse.

Jill Andersen, director of CAPSA, said her organization works closely with Somebody’s Attic and the Child and Family Support Center.

“It’s absolutely a building block for all of our programs. There is no way we could operate the way we do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without the support of Somebody’s Attic,” Anderson explained. “We’re able to take the donations that they give to us and multiply those many times over by showing that our community really supports our program.”

Esterlee Molyneaux, director of Child and Family Support Center, said the support her organization receives is vital to continue existing programs and to seek additional funds.

“We have children’s education programs that (are) entirely funded by Somebody’s Attic. We apply for a lot of grants but in order to qualify for them we need to come up with matching funds,” Molyneaux said. “It helps our budget grow because of the support from Somebody’s Attic. It’s remarkable.”

Shaw said <a href=”http://www.somebodysattic.org/” target=”_blank”>Somebody’s Attic</a> receives most of its donations from walk-in donations but occasionally businesses will donate new clothes and household items.

While the store has a similar business model as Deseret Industries, Shaw said the two organizations are not in competition with each other.

“We have limited space between the two locations. We can’t distribute out beyond those two locations,” Shaw explained. “Clearly there are things that come into the store that we cannot use or there are items that have been in the store for a period of three months and we need to turn over our stock and get new stock in.

“That merchandise goes to the D.I. They do this as a service to us to pick up those items that we cannot use ourselves.”

Shaw said the partnership saves the store thousands of dollars annually when Deseret Industries takes goods that Somebody’s Attic can’t distribute to the public or sell.

Somebody’s Attic will be closed all next week while a new floor is being installed. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Donations can be dropped off behind the store while the store is open. Shaw said the organization is researching whether or not to open a third store.

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