Volunteers Sally Sanders and Susanne Brinkley at the checkout counter.
Brown County’ s
Community Closet
~ story and photos by Chrissy Alspaugh
With morning temperatures still in the single digits, 84-year-old Truvenia“ Toots” Finley makes as quick of a trip as she can from the Community Closet thrift store’ s jampacked sorting room to the outdoor storage shed housing donations that won’ t fit inside the tiny shop.
The back and forth rhythm of fetching clothing bags and household items that need sorted and priced paces the days Finley volunteers at the nonprofit store at 284 S. Van Buren St.— beneath the back of the Subway restaurant.
Some of her trips are farther, to the enclosed trailer storing donations that the out-of-space shop will pass on to other organizations.
“ None of it is convenient,” said Joyce Snyder, the Community Closet’ s board president.“ We’ ve just outgrown our space so fast. We would love to move into a bigger space to be able to serve our community better.”
The Community Closet thrift store and community-assistance agency will celebrate its 50 th birthday in 2024, and the organization can’ t imagine a better gift than a larger location to help expand its offerings to the Brown County community.
Established in 1974, Community Closet is a service organization that provides financial assistance, goods, and services to low-income Brown County residents during times of crisis. The nonprofit also donates to more than 20 community organizations including the schools’ weekend backpacks meal program, Shop with a Cop, the Veterans Coalition, and more.
The assistance is possible because of the income generated by the Community Closet
16 Our Brown County March / April 2023