First & Second Thrift Store payout $95,000 to local non-profit organizations

Members of local non-profit organizations and the community gathered at The Hub on Mar. 3 to celebrate the annual First and Second Thrift Store payout event. 

Since its establishment in 2007, the small yet impactful thrift store has generated nearly $850,000 in donations. The thrift store volunteers decide which non-profits to donate the earnings to each year based on their accrued hours. 

In 2022, the thrift store had 43 volunteers totaling 4,553 hours. 

During the Mar. 3 gathering, Anne Marie Mershon, the president of the First and Second Thrift Store board, said the 43 volunteers donated $95,000 to 27 non-profit organizations in Cook County, with the payout averaging $20.86 per hour.

Although the thrift store said they had a profit of well over $110,000 in 2022, the First and Second Thrift Store board voted to donate $95,000 and retain the rest as a cushion for moving costs. 

The thrift store announced in Oct. 2022 that they were moving out of the leased space in the cobblestone building following the sale of the property. Most recently, the thrift store secured a leased space inside the newly renovated Birchbark Gallery building purchased by the Cook County Real Estate Fund. 

The thrift store anticipates to re-open following the move sometime this May. 

Here is a list of the donations to the 27 non-profit organizations:

• Arrowhead Animal Rescue = $3937
• American Legion Auxiliary (Post 413) = $949
• Bethlehem Lutheran Church = $6249
• Cook County Council on Aging (HUB) = $7609
• Cook County Food Shelf = $919
• Cook County Higher Education = $420
• Cook County Historical Society = $1060
• Cook County Tennis Association = $1850
• Care Partners = $8933
• Evangelical Free Church = $2316
• First Congregational Church = $7357
• Great Expectations Foundation = $5091
• Grand Marais Art Colony = $110
• Grand Marais Playhouse = $5143
• Girl Scouts of Cook County = $156
• Go Dog North Shore = $3890
• Hamilton Habitat = $13,576
• Holy Rosary Catholic Church = $1085
• Library Friends of Cook County = $4578
• Minnesota Children’s Press = $1387
• Maple Hill Fire Department = $1097
• North Point Youth Center = $796
• Snacks & Packs (WISE) = $4977
• St. John’s Catholic Church = $2673
• Violence Prevention Center = $5124
• WISE = $3394
• WTIP = $324

Kalli Hawkins March 7, 2023