St. James’ Thursday Thrift Shop raises $100,000 for organizations

For the first time in the ministry’s 50-plus year history, the Thursday Thrift Shop at St. James Episcopal Church has totaled $100,000 in sales, with proceeds going to a variety of programs and nonprofits.

“We’re only open one day a week — and just in the morning — so these sales are really phenomenal,” says co-manager Elaine McElhinney of the 2023 sales record. “We are one hundred percent volunteer — no one is paid, and while we do have some operating costs, everything else goes to the community.”

Last year’s sales figure is a big jump up from the ministry’s 2022 sales, which topped $70,000.

“When the sales numbers were reported at our church’s annual meeting last month I was just bursting with pride,” said McElhinney. “It was really emotional for me. I think all of us feel like we’re making a difference, and we have a lot of fun doing this.”

Of the 21 organizations and programs receiving monetary gifts, five are new to the roster, including The Children & Family Resource Center; the Dream Scholarships program at the Henderson County Community Foundation; the Guardian ad Litem program; the Medical Loan Closet, and La Capilla de Santa Maria.

Contrary to what some might figure, St. James does not receive funds from the popular thrift store ministry, except to support two of its longtime ministries: the Cuban Assistance Program and Our Little Roses in Honduras.

“We’re just so grateful and humbled by what we’ve been able to give back to the community,” said Margaret Langston, co-manager. “We are so appreciative of the donations from the community that have helped make this milestone possible. We have many wonderful and unique things.”

The Thursday Thrift Shop had its start in 1968 with a casual sale in the St. James parking lot where organizers brought in $19.01. The parking lot and rummage sales continued for years before finally becoming housed in 1988 in the church’s ground floor basement. McElhinney said that over the decades, over $1.8 million has been donated.

Often on Thursday mornings, there’s a line of around 20-40 people waiting for volunteers to open the doors for the store’s 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekly opening hours. Among them are a number of dealers, according to Langston.

“I would say a third of our customers are regulars,” she said. “If they’re not here, we worry. We’re family. Many are seasonal residents and they’ll drop by to tell us that they’ll be away until spring.”

The 54 active Thursday volunteers use Mondays and Tuesdays to get ready for the one weekly day of opening hours, and some even come in outside of regular hours to make sure their department looks good, said McElhinney.

“Every volunteer makes a contribution to the ministry’s success,” she said. “Some have served here for a long time.”

Last year, changes included transitioning from writing sales tickets by hand to using a cash register, which has enabled staff to better keep track of the categories, according to McElhinney. The store continues to take only cash or checks; credit card fees subtract what they can give away, she says.

“We also looked around at other thrift stores to see if our pricing was competitive, and found it was too low,” said McElhinney.

The “ladies in the kitchen” work on pricing new items streaming in on donation days. McElhinney and Langston has been impressed with volunteers’ skills in looking up retail prices online.

“We sell at 50% of the listed price,” says McElhinney. “We’ve taken a more realistic take on pricing.”

Hot departments include home decor and clothing in general, from the Women’s Boutique to clothing for infants three months and older, men’s clothing, shoes and purses.

“We sell a lot of kitchen items too,” Langston said.

Furniture is displayed in a large room with a separate outdoor entrance. Every item sold is guaranteed to be clean and in good working condition.

“We pride ourselves on selling things in good condition,” Langston said.

At this time, the ministry’s volunteers would appreciate donations of clothing of all types, home decor items, fabric and jewelry. The store does not sell big appliances, TVs, computer equipment, nor do they offer children’s items like cribs or car seats.

“We really do consider ourselves a ministry,” Langston said. “We minister to each other and the people that come into our shop.”

To learn more, call St. James Episcopal Church at 828-693-7458

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: St. James’ Thursday Thrift Shop raises $100,000 for area nonprofits