G.R.A.C.E Thrift Store: Community Service Work

Please consider a donation to G.R.A.C.E. Thrift Store in your year-end giving plans. They need local folks to assist as volunteers, funds to pay for an unanticipated building repair we are working on now, and donations toward our community outreach programs.

Through sales at G.R.A.C.E. Thrift Store, community support, and the programming skills of Natalie Pierson, Executive Director, we are going into the Holiday Season able to not only continue our partnerships with Lake Crystal schools and community organizations but also to reach out in innovative ways to new populations in need.

We are continuing to issue Emergency Need vouchers. Individuals can request two $25 vouchers (one for clothing, one for household goods) per year. Several organizations like Wellcome Manor issue these to their clients as needed.

 "Our Elders" Project in Lake Crystal provides all Crystal Seasons and Beacon senior residents with cards and wrapped Christmas gifts for the holidays to let them know they are valued and remembered. We are working to expand this to regional nursing homes.

"50 Scarves" provides scarves (and mittens and hats) on Riverfront Drive, Mankato, for anyone who needs them. The colorful scarves are hung on the fence in downtown Mankato near Pins and Needles. Local partnerships with Vagabond VIllage and SS Boutique help us provide some warmth through our long winter to local individuals who are currently homeless or less fortunate than us.

Natalie Pierson, Executive Director, and volunteers are continuing to try and evaluate new avenues for sales so we can continue donations to local community service organizations. We have been able to continue our longstanding, cooperative work with MVAC Youth Employment Program, Blue Earth County agencies, Maxfield Place, Wellcome Manor (Garden City) and REACH (homeless youth services) and local Lake Crystal Schools, Partners for Affordable Housing, American Legion, Habitat for Humanity, and local benefits for families in medical or financial crisis and more.

Acting as a resource for recycling clothes, household goods, home decor, seasonal decorations, books, and much more enables us to continue sell and redistribute tons of goods that would have gone into the waste stream. Our donors appreciate the opportunity to GO GREEN and recycle a wide array of goods. 

GRACE Thrift Store is open our normal hours: Tuesday-Friday - 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday - 10 am to 2 pm.  The drop off (accessed around the back of the store through the alley) will only be open Saturdays in December and will be closed through January.  We continue procedures we learned last year to safeguard our volunteers and shoppers.

BACKGROUND:

Since 1995, GRACE Thrift Store has been a valuable resource for regional families to find affordable clothing, books, household goods, toys, decor, CD's and more.  We partner with over a dozen local nonprofits in rural Blue Earth County to provide household resources for struggling families and individuals in crisis. We also maintain a historic bank building in Lake Crystal, Minnesota as a comfortable place to stop downtown and shop for great bargains.

One of three large rooms of clothing, coats, shoes and accessories

Children's Area 

Through generous donations we are able to assist our communities in recycling, reusing and upcycling lightly use clothing and goods. 

We have a committed group of staff and volunteers who sort, test, price, stock and sell hundreds of items each month. (With the loss of our "Snowbird" volunteers this winter, we need more volunteers to participate at the Store. We have a lot of behind the scenes work if you are feeling shy.) Even donations that don't eventually sell in the GRACE Thrift Store are passed on to other nonprofits, thrift stores and recycling vendors. The Board of Directors focuses our mission, assures fiscal responsibility, and invests a great deal of time to fundraisers throughout the year. 

Volunteer Recognition Party 2019 pre-pandemic

Please donate just a little to provide us with the ray of hope we need to continue.

 We know we are a valued contributor to our community's vitality.  And we would sincerely like to continue to serve our area.

Lake Crystal GRACE Thrift Store,  

PO Box 516

                                                 101 S. Main Street                                               

     Lake Crystal, MN 56055  

507-726-6881

We are a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit so your donation is tax deductible 

to the extent the IRS allows.