Money well spent: local thrift stores help a variety of programs.

• Author: Morgan, Barbara

Like to shop? Like bargains? Like to help those in need? Well, buying at thrift stores allows you to get the best deals while helping the elderly, disabled, sick, young or poor.

SOUTHSIDE BARGAIN BIN HELPS THE ELDERLY

Southside Bargain Bin, located at 11700 Old Seward Highway, a new upscale thrift store, offers Anchorage residents an opportunity for donations and thrift store prices.

Don and Donna J. Deschaine started their business because they saw a need to help the elderly and disabled.

"If I see a wheelchair, I pick it up and pass it along," she says, "or walkers, commodes, and bath benches. We are trying to do what we can."

Donna has advertised her nonprofit business through care coordinators, Alzheimer's program, and the Anchorage Senior Center.

The business opened mid-January and already the Deschaines have been able to meet their expenses.

Also, in just four to five weeks of starting the business, Donna realized the shop, with its 1,200 square feet, was too small. Donna chose the location for its visibility, but now needs extra space to accommodate all the items she is collecting.

The Deschaines have had an assisted living home for 10 years. Don worked with the youth corps for many years, but is now retired.

The Deschaines have received a number of compliments on their business already and have a following.

VALUE VILLAGE HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Partnering with charities is how Value Village does business.

Since its 1954 inception, the company stores have contributed $1 billion to charities, says district store manager Michael T. Blomquist.

Working with more than 120 nonprofit partners in the U.S., Canada and Australia, charity organizations include the Diabetes Foundation in Seattle, the Northwest Center for the Retarded, Dyslin Boys Ranch, Big Brothers of King County, Community Services for the Blind & Partially Sighted, and The Arc of Kitsap County.

The Dimond Boulevard store is affiliated with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, says Blomquist. The store on Boniface Parkway maintains a contract with the Arc of Anchorage. The Fairbanks Resource Agency is the charity for the store in Fairbanks.

Value Village adheres to its logo: recycle, reuse and resale.

"If items don't sell, we recycle them," says Blomquist. More than 220 million pounds have been recycled storewide. Six million pounds of goods are recycled every year from the three stores in Alaska.

The company owns a recycling business out of Seattle that ships goods to Africa and...