Thrift's Beginning
Thrift was an idea that was discussed at a bible study in October 2007. The topic was how we have so much in the USA and others in the world have less and that we take so much for granted. With that in mind, a member of Lord of the Lakes visited a church up north on a snowmobile vacation. A thrift store had been set up in a back entry way of a church.
The idea was pondered for 2-3 months and then acted upon in May 2008. The Sunday School rooms were not being used at Lord of the Lakes Church. With approval, items were saved from a rummage sale that the youth held at the church and were displayed in 2 Sunday School rooms and the hallways. Ads were placed in the local paper and signs were put out toward the highway.... thrift got a start! It was only going to be a project for the summer to help raise money to pay off a benevolence debt. In August 2008, a decision was made to continue with the thrift project; the thrift items were moved to the basement of the church.
A pig roast was held in September at the church and the thrift had many customers and increased exposure to the community. The thrift leaders were approached by a chamber of commerce member who had an idea for a downtown location and she gave us a name of a new land owner who might be interested in helping us move thrift downtown. The landowner listened to our story and gave us a start in a back room of property on Main Street. ~ Written by Gail Johnson ~
The idea was pondered for 2-3 months and then acted upon in May 2008. The Sunday School rooms were not being used at Lord of the Lakes Church. With approval, items were saved from a rummage sale that the youth held at the church and were displayed in 2 Sunday School rooms and the hallways. Ads were placed in the local paper and signs were put out toward the highway.... thrift got a start! It was only going to be a project for the summer to help raise money to pay off a benevolence debt. In August 2008, a decision was made to continue with the thrift project; the thrift items were moved to the basement of the church.
A pig roast was held in September at the church and the thrift had many customers and increased exposure to the community. The thrift leaders were approached by a chamber of commerce member who had an idea for a downtown location and she gave us a name of a new land owner who might be interested in helping us move thrift downtown. The landowner listened to our story and gave us a start in a back room of property on Main Street. ~ Written by Gail Johnson ~
How Thrift Has Evolved
- October 2008: Moved to downtown location on 211 West Main Street but outgrew the space we rented.
- May 2009: Added square footage to downtown location.
- March 2011: Added sorting area and garage/donation area to our lease downtown.
- December 2012: Opened current location on 911 E. Main Street (behind Kwik Trip). This is also when Lord of the Lakes Thrift & Gift became Winneconne Thrift & Gift.
- October 2013: Expanded square footage at current location. Obtained our 501c3 non-profit organization status.
- WTG currently has: over 50 volunteers (many of our volunteers work more than 20 hours/month), high school service volunteers, and 5 Saturday revenue-sharing groups.