Hit play on the above video to hear about the amazing impact of the humble thrift store.
Thrift Stores
Thrift stores are one way to help. Supporting them provides jobs to people who have hard time finding work. It is also a place people in poverty and homelessness can find affordable clothes and other items. Also, buying used clothes reduces our waste and helps the planet. Goodwill is a wonderful agency giving employment to those who have a hard time finding meaningful work. You can also find amazing things in their store! Using a similar model, The Mustard Seed recently opened a thrift store. This store provides affordable clothing to our community participants as well as employment opportunities to those part of The Mustard Seed Employment Program. In 2019, The Mustard Seed employed 379 people living in poverty and homelessness across Alberta. Continue to watch this video for more information on The Mustard Seed thrift store.
“Tonight we’re sitting at our newest location of The Mustard Seed Thrift Store. We are located on 65th St. and 118th Ave. and we border between Highlands and 118th.”
“So no matter if you’re trying to make ends meet or just trying to support your local community by shopping here, I believe you’re going to love it and have a great experience.”
“This area will be beneficial for people who are on a lower income to be able to shop and have access to beautiful things and to have the experience of shopping in a boutique. For 118th Avenue, that is a really big step. We want to bring dignity to people and let them be able to shop where everyone else shops and have the same things that everyone else has.
“We just really want it to be a fun and inviting space where your neighbours come in, get to know new people and get to know little bit more about what The Mustard Seed does so it is a shopping space for the whole city. Whatever community league you’re from, we want you to come here and feel welcome and just catch some of the passion that we have.”
“The first time I walked in here, it’s really kind of cool because the clothing is trendy, it looks like a chic boutique that you’d walk into. There’s something for everyone from home goods to clothing to bedding. There are so many things that you need just to start up the household but also things that are the extra special. It’s just kind of got it all in a really quaint little area of town and a beautiful little place to shop.”
“This thrift store is different than any other thrift store because when you walk in the doors, you will have a boutique shopping experience. I hope that shopping in the space makes you feel like you’re contributing to a greater cause. I hope that you would fall in love with everyone working here and the passion that we have to serve our community. We have a great team that is going to be hand picking our inventory based on what the community is looking for and asking for. We really want to create a dignified shopping experience for the community that The Mustard Seed serves because we know that when they see our logo and they see the dove they come to us because they know that they can have our help and our support.
“For the Highlands neighbourhood, it’s a bonus for their area because they get to come and be part of sustainability; about helping elevate their community but also doing social good, helping people who may not be able to afford all the things that others afford, be able to say we’re helping our neighbours and that’s a good thing to do.
“In addition to this space being open to the public and the community that we’re in, it is also available for the community that we serve to be able to shop for free based on a referral program. We strongly believe in helping the community we serve move forward so we still will definitely be doing that in this space.”
Our last stop is just around the corner at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. As you walk, enjoy the eclectic cultural mix of restaurants, grocery stores and businesses that make Whyte Ave such a vibrant street. Is there a particular restaurant or business that you would like to visit after the walk? What are some ways that we can support small businesses in our community today?
Check your map on the story city app to navigate to your next stop.