Thrift a Gift: Sustainable and Thoughtful Holiday Gifting

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

Well, hey, it’s Mike Train with Maggie from Arc Thrift. And Maggie, it’s all things Christmas right now at Arc Thrift, isn’t it?

SPEAKER 02 : 0:07

Oh, we’re so excited. It’s our favorite time of year. It’s going to be Christmas magic on every aisle.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:13

What do people not know about Arc Thrift when it comes to Christmas? What are some of the misconceptions or just stuff where people say, I didn’t know that?

SPEAKER 02 : 0:22

Oh, yeah. You know, I think what’s really becoming clear for us is that it’s okay to thrift a gift. You know, people kind of know ARC as an affordable place to find your holiday decor, everything you need for your table, everything you need to decorate your front door and your Christmas tree. But I think people aren’t always aware that it’s a great place to find a gift. And it really is okay to buy a sustainable gift that you spend time on and you put your heart and soul into finding something special for somebody and it really is okay to thrift a gift we call it merry christmas so maggie is it for some people anyways isn’t it they find that item that kind of really fits the person’s personality or is really thoughtful instead of just

SPEAKER 01 : 1:11

I know if I buy something new, it’s kind of like, okay, whatever.

SPEAKER 02 : 1:15

Yeah, instead of it being this cookie-cutter item that is just the same as you’re going to get off the retail shelves, it’s that little something extra. Maybe that person is really into a special band, and you find a vintage T-shirt that’s specific to a band that they loved in the 80s. Or if it’s a coffee mug, it really has a funny saying that applies perfectly to your funny best friend. I mean, you can really get creative. Recently, I just talked to one of our influencers who takes quilts, Christmas quilts that she finds, and she sews them into bookmarks. And what better way to say, you know, happy Christmas to someone you love with a special homemade gift. And people are so creative and creative. The Internet is filled with videos on how to make something totally upcycled that you find at a thrift store. And it’s just an opportunity to really get creative and send a gift from the heart.

SPEAKER 01 : 2:13

I’ve seen some really cool pieces that came from Arc Thrift that were furniture items or home decorations where they took something that was perhaps an antique or older or just had special meaning. And then you see the finished product and think, oh, my goodness. That’s cool.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:30

People are so creative. I mean, it, it does blow my mind how creative, especially here in Colorado, people are just, they take something that maybe was the cast off for someone else and they turn it into something magical. And that’s really great. And then besides the fact that you can find like the most one of a kind, hilarious, um, What is this white elephant gift? Which I always say, do not buy retail when you’re talking about a white elephant gift. Hit us up because it takes all of 20 seconds to walk down one of our brick back aisles and find something. And the definition of a white elephant gift is something that you go, what is this? And if it’s questionable, funny, weird, odd, a little, you know, risque, whatever it is, it’s the perfect white elephant gift.

SPEAKER 01 : 3:17

We’re speaking with Maggie from Arc Thrift, and it’s arcthrift.com. Stores throughout Denver, Colorado, if you hear our voice, if you’re listening on the radio, or if you’re online, either way, Maggie, 35 or 37?

SPEAKER 02 : 3:34

We’re at 30. You know what? We just opened 38 last week, Mike. Glenwood Springs. Yep. And that mountain store. Oh, people are so excited. I mean, so we’re going to have some great donations coming in there. just filled to the brim, and then we’ll likely open another store in New Mexico in the coming year, and then hopefully one in Texas. But again, as you know, all of our stores feed into funding the 15 ARC chapters. So we’re going to continue to keep that model going where our chapters that are here and in New Mexico will benefit directly from the proceeds of every single store. And they will be able to continue their work providing advocacy to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which is really the core of our mission.

SPEAKER 01 : 4:24

And do you count up each year? That number’s got to be big in terms of those chapters, what that means in terms of touch points or how many people you’re able to help.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:33

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And if you think about it, every chapter, every zip code in the state of Colorado and in New Mexico have an ARC chapter. that they can reach out to for these services. So it’s tens of thousands of people that are affected, families and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And that provides advocacy in schools, which you need from zero to age 21. medical services, legal services, housing services. And then once they are graduated from high school, many of these folks need jobs. And what a better place to work. You know, 20% of our workforce is dedicated to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

SPEAKER 01 : 5:16

And that’s 400-ish people, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:19

We’re about to hit 500, yes. We’re the 38th store. We’re going to be close to 500. So it works out to about 20% of our entire workforce, which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER 01 : 5:29

That’s basically putting your money where your mouth is, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:32

Yeah, absolutely. It’s so hard to walk into a place that serves people with disabilities and not see someone that you’re serving is very rare in our stores. There’s always someone that’s differently abled that’s working either the cash register, the front door, whatever it may be. We do put our money where our mouth is.

SPEAKER 01 : 5:50

I like that. Differently abled. I love that. That’s cool. Tell us… So the kinds of families you’re helping, we don’t get into this super often. We always do talk about who Arc Thrift helps. And when you shop there, donate who you’re helping, those ambassadors that we’ve met and just amazing, amazing personalities and people. But how many families across Colorado? There’s got to be tens of thousands, maybe over 100,000 that have kids, friends, you know, somehow touched by someone that has those disabilities. Yeah.

SPEAKER 02 : 6:25

Absolutely. You know, we like to say that everyone is somehow, you know, a couple of degrees of separation from someone with an intellectual or developmental disability. You said that perfectly. And then the other communities that we help, you know, I sit on our relief committee as well, and it’s very important to us. You know this, Mike, we provide vouchers to people in need. So if you’re a nonprofit that serves clients that are, you know, experiencing homelessness, getting out of a domestic violence situation, There are so many different other nonprofits across the state that we help and work directly with, whether somebody needs winter clothes, whatever they need, vouchers for shopping, we can get involved, our food drive. We really try and touch every community possible.

SPEAKER 01 : 7:11

Yeah. The food drive. How many tons last year?

SPEAKER 02 : 7:14

I mean, it was 65 last year. We’re rooting for 100 this year. And it’s right around the corner. We do that in March. And then, you know, I really like to say that the biggest thing for us is helping people who may, you know, have fallen on difficult economic times. Christmas is expensive for all of us. Right. And the goal. And this year we’ve really been coining the phrase, you know, affordable Christmas magic. And that’s really what we’re trying to do. We do a Santa at several of our stores on a Saturday. We provide free pictures all day. You can sit with Santa as long as you want, take as many photos as you want. It’s expensive to get your son or daughter on Santa’s lap, and we’re offering that to several of our communities for free this year. We’ve done that now, oh gosh, it’s probably been 12 years running. And we continue to keep that part of our tradition. It’s about really affordable Christmas magic, whether you’re decorating or you’re giving a gift or you just want your son or daughter to be able to sit on Santa’s lap for the first time.

SPEAKER 01 : 8:14

I think a lot of females or a lot of females, a lot of families, whether it’s whether it is the wife, the mom, you know, whoever or the dad, they’re feeling pressure when it comes to Christmas, because let’s face it, you no matter how hard you say, you know, work to say, OK, we’re going to we’re going to be more limited and gifting and we’re going to try to be wise. And maybe we can give some of that money away to someone who needs food, needs help, you But still, there’s a lot of pressure on these families. And for a family that doesn’t have a lot of resources, Arc Thrift is such a blessing.

SPEAKER 02 : 8:52

Oh, yeah. And you really have this opportunity to really get creative, right? You can do something really special. And you’ve got 50% off every Saturday. It’s possible. You can do amazing things on a budget in our stores, whether it’s a gift, even your outside decor, your Christmas lights suddenly go out on you. I always tell people, check our aisles first. You may have to go to one or two stores, but we have so much product. We save specifically for this holiday season. Whatever you celebrate, we’ve got tons of items that can help you make it a special time for your family, even on a budget.

SPEAKER 01 : 9:31

Now, tell us a couple of the items that people might not expect that they could see at an art thrift store. And then also about the donation factor, because there’s always need for donations, always, including this time of year.

SPEAKER 02 : 9:44

Yeah, you know, I think one thing that people don’t always realize is bulk Christmas ornaments. We do a really good job of putting bulk Christmas items. We bag them together for a deal. Yes, you can get those one-of-a-kind vintage ornaments if you’re on the lookout for those kinds of things. But bulk Christmas items, Christmas lights, garland, tinsel, even an artificial Christmas tree on a dime. We really try our hardest to make those things affordable, and we want it to be magical. We set our stores up just like traditional retail. It’s fun. Bring your kids. Check out our aisles. You will leave in the Christmas. Get the Christmas sweaters. Ugly or not, I like to say they’re beautiful. But we’ve got aisles and aisles of those right now, plus your Christmas pajamas. You can really do some damage in our stores and not break the bank.

SPEAKER 01 : 10:35

And you can go to multiple stores, right? They’re close enough. Most places you live, you can go to a couple of different stores and take donations. Look through your house. Look at the Christmas lights. Right now, you know the Christmas lights you didn’t put up. Take those to Arc Thrift because there’s somebody at the last minute that might say, I got to make sure the kids really see that kind of color and festiveness for Christmas.

SPEAKER 02 : 11:01

Oh, yeah. This is a big donation season for us. I mean, you called it. People are cleaning out their houses. They’re really, you know, rethinking this theme or that theme or go, oh, my gosh, I’ve got so much under the tree. I need to make a room in a playroom. It’s a great opportunity for you to, you know, clear out your closets. Bring us those gently loved items. We will find them a new home. Even if they’re not in season, that’s fine. Bring them to us anyways. If you’ve got that Halloween stuff. Clear it out. We’ll take it. We’ll save it for next Halloween. We have a really great storage program. It’s very robust. Nothing goes in the landfill. Our goal is to save as much as possible from landfill and really recycle appropriately only when necessary.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:45

Yeah, we’re really, I think in some ways, preaching, you know, there’s a lot of stuff. We all have a lot of stuff. And some of that stuff never gets used. Somebody else can be blessed by it and they need it. But if you don’t take a dark thrift, they don’t get the chance to use it. It just sits in your garage or in your closet or, you know, in the house. It’s nuts.

SPEAKER 02 : 12:06

And this is toy season, too. How quick do your kids, you know, they use that toy a couple times and they’re over it. Get it to us. Get it to us. Our stores are just brimming with toys right now. We can always use more. We work with a lot of nonprofits to provide gently loved toys as well. So we will take them anytime.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:26

And Maggie, we want to make sure that when we donate those toys, right, bring some cans of food, number one. Number two, make sure those toys are in condition, clean, everything where you would, what?

SPEAKER 02 : 12:39

Sellable condition.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:41

Okay. Very good.

SPEAKER 02 : 12:42

Yeah. Solvable condition is always a way to think about it. You know, and kids are not that rough on their clothes because they grow out of them so quickly. So I always say, you know, wrap up the kids clothes, donate the kids clothes. You know, we’re always looking for men’s clothes, too. I would say that’s probably an area where we’re always in need is the men’s department. Men are hard on their clothes and they don’t donate as much unless their wife wraps it up for them. Yeah. So if you want to be proactive and change that narrative for us, you know, men, get out there, give us a bag of your clothing. It’s so easy, right? With 38 stores, you can literally pull up to the back. Your trunk will unload for you. And we’ve got 15 donation stations. And if you’re thinking about, you know, that large piece of furniture that you can’t, you know, really get in your vehicle and take to us, give us a shot. We do free furniture pick up online. in the Denver Metro area, and we can pick those up for free for you. And then, like you mentioned, include those cans of non-perishable food items. You can do up to 20 boxes and bags as well through free pickup. So hit us up. You can schedule that online or call our 1-800 number and get on our schedule, and a truck will come out for free. We do not charge for our pickups.

SPEAKER 01 : 13:56

Well, Maggie, we want our listeners to be a blessing besides just the wonderful shopping opportunities and the fun of going to Arc Thrift. It’s arcthrift.com, arcthrift.com. Maggie, thanks for your time.

SPEAKER 02 : 14:09

Thank you.