Gas and grocery prices may have you pinching pennies but there are still some good deals out there if you know where to look.
News 6 paid a visit to a thrift store in Eustis that’s been offering secondhand items at a discount for decades.
This week’s Getting Results Award winner has been volunteering there for almost as long.
Located at 211 S. Mary St., the St. Thomas Thrift Store is a great place to shop for all sorts of items ranging from kitchenware to clothing. The thrift shop and boutique is run by a group of about 30 volunteers.
One of them, Sandra Pettitt, has volunteered with the nonprofit since 1962.
“At that time, we were praying that we’d make $100 a week,” Pettitt said, as she helped arrange new items on the shelves. “We didn’t make that much money, but we’ve always given our money to the community.”
The St. Thomas Thrift Shop is also a ministry of the church next door and one of its principal sources of financial outreach to the community. For well over 50 years, the St. Thomas Thrift Shop & Boutique has provided funding for local charitable organizations. In recent years, disbursements have averaged $15,000 - $20,000 annually.
“We give it away twice a year,” Pettitt said. “Throughout the years, we’ve probably helped 30 to 40 different organizations. We’ve helped people if we hear a house burned or there are any immediate needs as well.”
Pettitt taught school for 44 years in Central Florida. She started her career in Orlando at Delany Elementary. She moved to Eustis in 1961 and taught at various schools in the area spending 28 years at Tavares High School.
Volunteer, Eleanor McIsaac, sent in a Getting Results Award nomination for Pettitt and the St. Thomas Thrift Shop.
“Sandra is our longest-running volunteer. She’s a member of the church and a long-time teacher here,” McIsaac said. “She knows so many people and a lot of old students come in to see her.”
McIsaac and all the volunteers we spoke to take pride in the shop.
“Each room is set up for a different type of inventory,” McIssac said. “Everything is very fairly priced, and the community is very generous in supporting us. All the money we make goes back to the community by grant.”
Each year, local organizations are invited to submit applications to receive grants from the thrift shop, and funds are disbursed two times throughout the year, once in the spring and once in the fall.
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