The clothes sold at Good Thrift are donated by Calgarians. Donations are accepted at the Central Outreach Hub located at Central United Church. (Willow Pflueger, CMRU.ca)
In 2021, Good Neighbour opened in downtown Calgary. The landlord donated the space to test out the idea of a pay-what-you-can thrift store. Through the test store, the founders realized that the best way to make the store sustainable was to create another store called Good Thrift to raise funds to cover operating costs and supplies for the low income population. Good Thrift opened in 2022.
One of the founders of Good Neighbour is Alice Lam. In 2020, Lam helped create the Calgary Community Fridge. The Calgary Community Fridge was a pantry where people could donate their food to help solve food insecurity during the pandemic. She realized there was a large number of people who wanted to redirect their clothes as well as their food which led to the idea of Good Neighbour.
The difference between Good Thrift and Good Neighbour
Good Neighbour is a free store where people can go to receive clothing, hot meals and support. They can connect people with social workers and peer support workers.
Good Thrift is an affordable thrift store. The money raised from sales supports both stores. Items in the store range from between $5 to $10.
“I think what’s really cool about Good Neighbor and Good Thrift is we get to be whatever the community needs us to be. So when we first started, it was all about clothing, and then we’ve expanded to be about food and hot meals as well,” Lam says.
The organizations also use the spaces for peer support programs and a homework program.
“I love that we are nimble and that we can respond to the needs of the community when they need us,” Lam says.
Good Neighbour is located in the basement of Central United Church at 131 7 Ave SW, Calgary while Good Thrift is located in the basement level of 110 3 Ave SE, Calgary.
Where funds go
The money raised through Good Thrift allows Good Neighbour to provide low income Calgarians with essentials, including things like:
- New underwear
- New socks
- Bandages
- Body wipes
- Shampoo
- Conditioners
- Soap
“The money that we raise through Good Thrift helps us purchase items that normally wouldn’t be donated that we really take for granted as people who have income,” Lam says.
The money also goes towards janitorial services and rent for the spaces.
Good Thrift accepts monetary donations on their website.
Personal reflection
Working on this project made me think about how privileged I am when it comes to food security and access to essentials like clothing and toiletries. These are things that I often take for granted which I should be more aware of.
Organizations like Good Neighbour and Good Thrift directly help people in my community. Working on this project made me think about how I can get more involved in my community and help those around me. I volunteer at several non-profits in Calgary and would like to volunteer more.
I hope that Good Thrift is able to use the video I created to bring more awareness of their store, the stylish clothing they sell and the good they do for our community. I hope I offered them a fresh perspective on how people outside the organization view them which they can use in the future to market themselves and what they do.
I have learned more about what kinds of services and support are available for people in Calgary who are low income or who do not have access to essentials. With this new knowledge, I will be able to refer people who need support to places like Good Neighbour.
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