Spruced Up Thrift Store in Burlington, Washington, celebrated its 25th anniversary throughout the month of October. What began as a desire to meet the needs of the people living in the Skagit Valley by raising funds for community service projects, has continued to grow and be a blessing for both the church and other local organizations.
In 1996, the Women’s Ministries team shared their vision with the church board. Just a month later, they opened the doors of the thrift shop on Spruce Street in Burlington. Within no time at all, they had outgrown their space and moved into a larger building on the main street of town where the store continues to operate today.
Thanks to the faithful support and generosity of the church and community, the Spruced Up Thrift Store continues to donate all its profits to local charities and organizations that benefit the community. The thrift shop is run entirely by church volunteers who spend countless hours processing an ever-changing inventory of donated items and making them available for sale in the store.
Through the years, many customers have become friends with the cashiers and make it a point to shop on specific days when they know their friends will be there. The volunteer cashiers have established a rapport with many shoppers who add their name to the prayer journal or ask to have special prayer with one of the volunteers. Sometimes they return to add a note of thanks to the prayer journal and to share that their prayers were answered.
Along with an extensive line of Loma Linda, Worthington and Morning Star Farms vegetarian items, Spruced Up Thrift Store offers fun sales each week such as bag sales when customers can stuff a bag with as much clothing as possible and pay only $6 for the whole bag and “color sales" when items labeled with a specific color are 50% off the original price.
Each month a different volunteer chooses where they would like that months’ donations to go. It gives the volunteers a feeling of satisfaction to know their hours of work benefit an organization that is near and dear to their hearts. They have also been blessed to periodically make a larger donation toward special projects at Skagit Adventist Academy or the worthy student fund.
If those living near the Burlington area are looking for a place to volunteer a few hours each week, stop by Spruced Up Thrift Store where you can learn about ways you can make a difference through volunteering.
If you are ever traveling through the Burlington area, plan to make a stop at the store to help celebrate God’s blessings in keeping this ministry alive for 25 years. Learn more about special sales and store hours on their Facebook page: facebook.com/SprucedUpThriftStore or by visiting their website.
What began as a desire to meet the needs of the people living in the Skagit Valley by raising funds for community service projects, has continued to grow and be a blessing for both the church and local organizations for 25 years!
