The VFW Thrift Store has become an essential part of Putnam County as a business that not only supports veterans but the wider community.
“The number one goal of opening the store was to help veterans in need and this gave us the opportunity to have the resources to do it,” said Phyllis Betancourt, co-manager. “We help military personnel overseas, have special projects that we work on, assist the homeless, and assist people in the community.”
The VFW Thrift store opened its doors on December 14. The store is managed by Phyllis Betancourt and Nikki Barker. Betancourt is the wife, daughter and mother of veterans. Barker is a veteran herself. Both co-managers have a deep connection to veterans and the cause of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary.
“We can’t forget our military or our community,” said Betancourt.
The VFW Thrift Store is on 934 Oak Street in a small warehouse building. Walking into the front doors, customers are greeted by a wide space with a variety of sculptures, kitchen accessories and a wide selection of clothing for premature infants to adult sizes. The back of the store is an even larger space with a selection ranging from furniture to books.
The store sells every item at a low price so that any age range can find and afford something. The store also does not offer any discounts for this same reason. A top priority is keeping everything affordable and at the same low price for everyone.
“All of our customers are wonderful,” said Barker. “We have repeat customers and new customers and we want them all to have the same experience.”
Products inside the store are all donations from the community. Many different places from the Farmers & Merchants Bank to the Dollar General have donated different items, shelves and more to help the store grow and function on its own.
“We can’t forget our community,” said Betancourt. “The community has been unbelievable.”
Baker calls the products in their store “ventique.” Ventique is the combination of the words vintage and antique as the range of products all have a history and bring nostalgia to many customers. According to Betancourt, the majority of customers visit the store and buy something because of a memorable experience from their past or for nostalgia.
“Recycling is a good way to put our products. We have a recycling company that will buy items like clothes from us to reuse,” said Betancourt. “And all the items here were once someone’s possession and are now going to a new home rather than ending up in a landfill.”
The thrift store is continuously working to install more shelves and sort all of the many donations they have received for better customer service. Volunteers help around the store to keep things tidy, install new shelves or decorate and participate in projects that the store does to help the community.
“We truly just want to help all we can,” said Betancourt. “We are so thankful to everyone who has helped us and we hope to continue helping this community and all the veterans that we can.”
The VFW Thrift Store is a cycle store that accepts help from the community but always returns the favor back to the community whenever the opportunity presents itself.
“When you actually help someone, it’s just indescribable. We will help wherever we can,” said Betancourt. “And you truly can judge a community by its people and it shows here. The people here have been so generous and the community has just been wonderful to us.”