Forest Finds – Reshapes the thrift store construct

March 1, 2016

I’ve been frequenting thrift stores ever since I’ve been able to walk.  And when someone mentions these reuse retailers, some of the first things that come to mind for me are unsorted clothes, glimpses of unidentifiable items, piles of unwanted dishes, stacks of old chairs, some collectibles, and a distinct musty smell.  Without fail, these characteristics have remained a constant. 

You can imagine my surprise when I learned about a thrift store that takes a different approach—Forest Finds Thrift Shop in the Village of Lyons Falls, New York.  Forest Finds sorts all of the clothing received;  cleans, fixes, and categorizes the toys by age level; does a great job in displaying all of the available items in an appealing way;  supports more than 15 community organizations/efforts; and donates its revenues to support the Forest Presbyterian Church’s Deacons.

And what’s really impressive is that they accomplish their work with one part-time store manager and more than 50 volunteers from the area!  

The Shop was started by the historic Forest Presbyterian Church in Lyons Falls to provide the community with low-cost quality items at an affordable price.  The Shop is run by the Church’s Women’s Association.  With a population of 566 and making up .97 square miles, the Village is a quaint community in Lewis County—near the southwest side of the Adirondack Mountains.  There are many small businesses throughout the Village and its largest company is Otis Products—a well-known manufacturer of gun care products and systems.

In addition to sorting clothes, the Shop’s volunteers use color labels to identify how long the items have been on display.  This allows staff to keep the merchandise on the floor moving and donating the items they can’t sell.

The volunteers are encouraged to identify specific jobs in the store that they like doing.  For example, one volunteer likes working with the toys.  She washes all the toys when they first come in and then categorizes them by age level.  This allows the children and their parents an easy time in finding what they are looking for.

When I visited Lyons Falls for the Lyons Falls ALIVE Tailgate Flea Market and Festival last summer, I saw an array of beautiful gift baskets that were assembled from the items donated to the Shop by its volunteers.  The baskets were raffled off to the Festival visitors.  This is another example of the Shop volunteers’ handiwork and skills in raising additional funds for the Deacons’ work.

During my visit, I also quickly became aware of how much the area residents volunteer their free time to community-based programs and projects.  In addition to serving as local politicians, some of the other ways that residents volunteer are organizing and staffing the Lyons Falls’ annual festival and flea market, participating in the Friends of the Library group, staffing their local volunteer fire house, and sorting clothes and other items at the Forest Finds Thrift Shop.  I’ve never witnessed a community that takes so much pride in making their community work as Lyons Falls residents do.

The residents’ community pride is also visible in the support that the Shop provides other area social services programs and efforts.  Forest Finds donates men’s and women’s clothing and housewares to the Salvation Army, new clothing to the Office of the Aging, rags to a local business, rags and old blankets to animal shelters throughout the county, children’s clothes to the Head Start program next door, and children’s books to the Lewis County Opportunities programs. 

In addition, they provide toiletries, baby food and bottles to the Safe House (for victims of domestic abuse); books and toiletries to veterans; and clean stuffed animals to the hospitals for children with cancer.

Forest Finds is a wonderful mix of the old with the new.  Their merchandise may attract young and old and their advanced management practices present a well-cared for store with satisfied volunteers. 

By Mary Ann Remolador

Stuck on Reuse!? – Resources for Making it Work

Join us on Thursday, March 24, 2016 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT for the fourth webinar in NERC’s reuse webinar series!

To Register:     https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2478350158855323906

Click HERE for links to PPT presentations and recordings from the previous webinars in NERC’s Reuse Webinar Series— Reuse: A Triple-Bottom Line Solution, States Charging Ahead with Textiles Recovery, and Reuse: the Big Event. The Reuse Webinar Series is funded in part through a United States Department of Agriculture grant. Additional reuse resources can be found by searching for “reuse” on NERC’s website.