UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | February 16, 2025

How St. George thrift stores are making a difference for local communities

Against the wall are shelves of used books, vibrant garment racks and antique paintings. In addition to all the shopping in St. George, thrifting holds the opportunity to purchase gently used goods and unique pieces. Lindy Blair | Sun News Daily

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Thrifting is a big part of St. George’s culture because it allows people to give back to their community. By donating to thrift shops it helps reduce waste, and there are plenty of causes donors can support.

Some examples of the different causes donors can support include covering medical expenses for animals in a shelter, helping the homeless find housing and helping women during unexpected pregnancies.

Here are five local thrift stores that all support different causes.

Switchpoint

Switchpoint is a nonprofit organization, but Switchpoint is more than just a thrift store. They have a boutique, a coffee shop and a place called The Point, which is apartments for those in need.

One thing that makes Switchpoint unique is that all of the funds that the thrift store earns go toward helping the Switchpoint homeless shelter, in addition to providing various items at affordable prices.

Drew, a volunteer at Switchpoint, said, “If you walk into any thrift store, you will find that there is more in there than any one person or group of people can even have, so I think whoever wants to thrift should be able to thrift.”

Thrift stores have plenty to offer, all at a cheaper price than other stores. They offer a wide variety of goods from clothes, to home decor, to old electronics.

Indy Clover

Indy Clover takes a different approach to thrifting. At Indy Clover, the person donating is more involved in the process. The donor can set the prices for their items and book a booth for them to be sold. When the clothes sell, the donor receives two-thirds of what it is sold for. This is a great way to reduce waste and even make some money while doing it.

The first thing that pops out to customers as they walk in is how colorful the store is. All of the walls are bright pink and orange. It makes the store stand out among others as Indy Clover focuses more on fashion compared to others on the list.

The Hope Chest

The Hope Chest is a nonprofit organization that supports women with unexpected pregnancies through the Well Pregnancy Resource Center.

Thrifting allows people to give back to their community by supporting different causes. Shopping at the Hope Chest helps support women during a difficult time.

Shellie Deveaeu, a manager at The Hope Chest, said: “People should thrift, especially for a nonprofit, because if you love to just have fun buying stuff, this is a double whammy. You get your treasure that you found, and it supports local women with an unexpected pregnancy.” 

Deseret Industries

Deseret Industries is a nonprofit organization that is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of the money earned from donations goes to funding their job training program.

Their job readiness program helps people prepare to go into the workforce, removes employment barriers, explores career options and even helps with the job search process. 

PAWS Thrift Store

PAWS stands for Providing Animals With Support. They are a nonprofit organization that supports the rescue of stray cats and dogs.

The funds from the thrift store go toward getting food and medical services to animals in the PAWS adoption center. PAWS saves animals that are scheduled to be euthanized at other shelters due to lack of space. They also help animals find homes through the adoption center.

Another thing they do is hold events that allow for a chance to meet the animals in fun ways. Last year, they offered a kitten and a puppy bowl, where the kittens and puppies would compete in a miniature game of football.

They also offered a PAWS paint night, where people could come paint with animals for a night. All of the money from the events goes to helping the animals, and it is also a great opportunity to meet and adopt an animal.

Lynn Burger, the executive director at PAWS, said: “One reason to thrift is to save money. You can get very nice items for cheaper prices. The other is… to recycle. They want to reuse things rather than buy new. It’s for the environment and also if the thrift store has a mission they want to support.”

Thrift shops allow for opportunities to help out the community in different ways. They provide essential items to people who need them at an affordable price. Thrifting is a great way to obtain fun, unique items for your collection, all while helping out people or animals who need it the most.