BY STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—Every time someone in Brandon moves or settles the estate of a deceased relative, inevitably boxes and bags of clothing and housewares show up on the porch of Nifty Thrifty thrift shop. While most items end up priced under $5, it all adds up to serious money over time, money which the nonprofit distributes to programs, organizations, and causes in the Brandon community.
In fact, Nifty Thrifty recently announced one of its largest distributions ever: $15,000 to the Brandon Free Public Library (BFPL), to support the Library’s planned renovation. The money will be used specifically to underwrite the cost of the BFPL’s new circulation desk. To put the size of the gift in perspective, Nifty Thrifty pulls in about $20,000 in a typical year.
“We love the Library,” said Laura Peterson, president of Nifty Thrifty’s board. Though Nifty Thrifty already donates $500 every month to a chosen cause in the area, Peterson noted that they “like to be very generous once in a while.”
“This gift is an example of how our community comes together to support each other,” said David Roberts, president of the BFPL board. “Nifty Thrifty is truly dedicated to this town.”
Other causes that have recently received gifts from Nifty Thrifty include the Brandon Food Pantry, the Brandon Senior Center, Brandon Area Rescue Squad, OVUHS’s new Tech Ed program, and the Friends of the Town Hall. Nifty Thrifty also gave $6,000 toward the construction of the new gazebo in Central Park across from the Brandon Inn.
Nifty Thrifty is a volunteer-run organization that has had nine different locations around Brandon since its founding in 1975. Its current space is in the Rectory of St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Conant Square, near the Brandon Post Office. The shop moved there shortly before the pandemic, having lost its lease in the brick building that currently houses the National Bank of Middlebury and dental offices.
“We were given three months’ notice and weren’t sure where we were going to go,” said Peterson. “I had a conversation with someone who happened to be involved with St. Thomas and she thought their rectory might be a good fit. They didn’t want to rent the space to a regular business. We dovetail with their mission of helping the needy. It was a win-win.”
On a recent Saturday morning, Ms. Peterson and Mary Ann Hodges, a volunteer since 2016, greeted customers in the tidy, organized space. Despite the sleet outside, several people came by to check out the offerings.
“We have a lot of regulars,” said Hodges. “They know they can get a good bargain.”
“The joy is in the hunt,” added Peterson. “You have to show up often to get the good deals.”
Someone came in to drop off a large bag of clothing and jewelry. Hodges opened it up and pulled out two stylish wool sweaters and a zippered jacket from Columbia outerwear. Both she and Peterson remarked on the high quality and good condition of the items.
“We really hope for people’s best stuff,” Peterson said. “We want it to sell.”
“Sometimes people give us literal junk and we have to pay to dispose of it ourselves,” said Hodges.
Both Peterson and Hodges made the point that just because someone might not have the money for something new doesn’t mean they don’t deserve something nice. If you donate, clothing should be clean and in wearable condition. Housewares should be intact and usable. Items that stay too long on the shop’s shelves often end up on the “free” bench on the porch.
Hodges joked that both the shop and its customers can be so eager for good material that jackets taken off by volunteers have sometimes ended up accidentally tagged and sold when that volunteer went to complete a task in one of the rooms upstairs.
The shop recently received a donation of several silver brooches purchased from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. “We’re offering them at a fraction of their original price. It was a very generous donation from a local resident,” said Peterson.
Peterson noted, though, that as important as they may be, donations are only half the equation: “We love people to donate, but we always need people to buy things too!”
