My daughter, Amy, always stops at thrift stores when she is off the island. She buys most of her clothes there, as well as books for Lachlan, and the occassional toy or gift.
Amy also patronizes Ocracoke's very own Village Thrift Store which is located in the back of the Ocracoke Coffee Company. Village Thrift has been a major funding source for the Ocracoke Youth Center, and has provided activities and services for island youth and families since 1995.
Although the Youth Center is in hiatus because of a federally funded youth program at the school, the Board is still active and anticipates that it will resurrect the Youth Center when grant money runs out. In addition, summer programming is almost non-existent under the grant so there is discussion about reinstating some summer activities under the Youth Center umbrella.
Meanwhile, Village Thrift continues to help finance the Youth Center in anticipation of future needs. This year, the shop has grown into the space formerly occupied by The Blue Door Antiques so there is almost twice as much room to explore. Village Thrift is a great example of recycling. Almost everything finds a new home, saves the purchaser a lot of money, and sends that money back into our community. Please stop by to browse. And volunteer if you can -- all of the staff are volunteers. Also, grab a coffee or a smoothie from Village Thrift's very generous Ocracoke Coffee Company landlord.
Thrift Store hours are Tues-Fri 10-5 and Sat 11-5. Stop in, make a purchase, and help provide wholesome activities for Ocracoke's youth!
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a history of the Ocracoke Preservation Society. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news.htm.
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The Thrift shop is a win-win for all! Hope it will bring in a lot of folks this year.
ReplyDeleteSpring cleaning time is here ---perhaps mainland readers would ship donations to the shop via the postal service?. Donations are needed for a good supply to offer customers --donate today.
ReplyDeleteGreat! my favorite type of shopping
ReplyDeleteYou know, Anon #2, the idea did cross this NC mainlander's mind to send some "good stuff" to the thrift store. Maybe worth pondering.....
ReplyDeleteJust finished my volunteer shift - we have some wonderful things just waiting for a new home. Thanks for the great article Phillip - hope your "new" table worked out for you. Will stop by and hope to see it on the pizar.
ReplyDeleteWhere might a mainlander send a box of donations???
ReplyDeleteI stopped by the other day and bought something worth ten dollars -- for a quarter! Hey, I recommend it.
ReplyDeleteFor myself and Anon #6, I looked up the Ocracoke Village Thrift Shop address on-line and this is what I found: 226 Back Road, Ocracoke, NC 27960. Phone #252-928-4743.
ReplyDeletePhilip, maybe you or someone local can confirm this info for us mainlanders. Thanks!
US Postal Service does not provide home delivery to Ocracoke...so if you send anything USPS you'll need the PO Box #, otherwise it will be rejected in Rocky Mount. I do not know the PO Box # -- maybe Gael or one of the other volunteers will give us that information. If you send a package by UPS they will want the street address (but once it gets to Ocracoke, Grant, our UPS driver, will deliver it to the correct place even if the address is incorrect...he knows everyone!)
ReplyDeleteIf no one posts the correct PO Box # for Village Thrift, just use the Village Craftsmen # (PO Box 248). We'll make sure it gets delivered to the thrift store. And many thanks for donations!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, Philip. I will be sending off a box on Monday...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Philip! You have been a big help, but that's nothing new! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I had also wondered about using the P.O. box because I recalled everyone gets mail through the local post office there, but wasn't sure. Thanks for explaining!
Most towns have thrift shops that collect items with the sale money going to a cause in your own local town. You might want to check that out as well.
ReplyDeleteIs there a special donation box on the mainland for the OI Village Thrift Store. Does it have a facebook page or even a web page? In this day and age of 21st century marketing--- visitors may be reminded to bring donations with them on vacation. You know-- If they bring clothes with them to donate at the end of their vacation they can leave with a new outfit they purchased at the store and thus travel light in a single magnanimous gesture
ReplyDeleteI am sure there is no donation box on the mainland. And I doubt the thrift store has a web page, or is on facebook. If anyone knows differently, please let us know.
ReplyDeleteThe thrift is barely able to be open 5 days a week much less the 7 we would like - because we have such few volunteers....much less facebook, etc. Course as we grow and folks volunteer after this great blog - that might change. We also have a storage problem so we have to be careful not to collect more than we can display and sell.
ReplyDeleteWe appreciate all the help, donations, and customers...Thanks!
It is my understanding that the unior league loves to involve members in the community. Perhaps contacting a Mainland Junior League group to infuse their talent organizational skills, and human resources(volunteers) they could make a day of it-- ride the free ferry to their favorite OI detail the Ye Ole Village thrift shoppe
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phillip, for the great article about VT, and thanks to everyone who has expressed an interest in contributing. We do need more volunteers, not just to work the cash register, but also to help sort items and keep the shop as neat as possible. And go to the dump...and deliver large items like sofas, chests, etc. A website or Facebook page would be awesome-another good volunteer project. Will follow up with more info.
ReplyDeletego to the dump. the Does OI have a recycling problem ---do people recycle ?does OI send recyclables to the mainland on the ferry? I understand the ferry is free ---so if there is a recyclable program on the mainland it sounds as if that is way to transport the items to get recycled. You mentioned a population increase, the influx may not be attuned to the Change that is necessary today for a better tomorrow,
ReplyDeletePlease see my reply about recycling on Monday's post (May 23, 2011).
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the Blue Door Antique part of the shop? The owner was a funny, wise, helpful woman.
ReplyDeletePaula and her husband Michael own and operate the Flying Melon Restaurant. The cuisine is excellent!
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Door lady still stops by VT to chat with customers and help us price unusual donations. She knows so much about antiques. We all miss The Blue Door.
ReplyDeleteWe break down all cardboard and take to the dump. We save donated clothes that are way more than gently used for some folks on OI who use them in craft projects. We also take items that have been in VT for a long time and not sold over to thrift stores on the mainland. Nothing goes to waste.