Nonproft store uses proceeds to help local charities

For more than two decades the Ladies of Charity—part of the Saint Vincent de Paul charities—and the Lake Travis Thrift Shop have helped the Lakeway community.

The thrift shop, which started in a one-room store, moved to its current location at 1508 S. RR 620, Ste. 105 in Lakeway in 2007, a much larger space than the single-room store, LTTS Manager Sandy Beaty said.

"The store has gotten progressively bigger over time," Beaty said. "When we moved to our current location, we were worried that we might have bitten off more than we could chew, but now we are overflowing."

Beaty said that the reason the store is overflowing is because of the fantastic community support the thrift shop has received.

One of the reasons the store has been successful is the annual holiday sale, playfully referred to as Bling in the Holidays, which was held Nov. 11.

"I don't have the exact numbers, but it is safe to say the event has grown every year we have hosted it," LTTS Seasonal Manager Linda Horton said.

The Lakeway store was packed with patrons Nov. 11, Beaty said. Customers lined up before the store's opening in order to receive deals on holiday decor, toys, clothes and gifts, she said.

"Our revenue is up 20 percent from this time last year," she said. "That is without the silent auction that we did last year."

The current economic climate has also played a part in the success of the thrift shop, Horton said. The store offers things that can be found at a retail store at greatly discounted prices, she said.

"[Customers] are just trying to get the most bang for their buck," Horton said.

Those 'bucks' are then used to help a variety of charities and organizations in the Lakeway area, such as Lake Travis Crisis Ministries, Healthcare Volunteer Associates Clinic, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Helping Hand Crisis Ministry Spicewood, St. Louise House, Mary House Catholic Worker, St. Vincent de Paul Briarcliff, Lake Travis Community Library and Green Santa.

But donating to local charities through the Ladies of Charity isn't the only thing the thrift shop does. The organization also provides yearly grants to Caritas, C 3, Partners in Hope and various memorial donations and disaster relief funds.

Lake Travis Thrift Shop always makes use of nearly every item that comes through its doors, Beaty said. Those items that either do not sell or can't be sold are donated to low-income housing libraries, Arms of Hope/Medina Thrift, St. Edward's University and various animal shelters.

"We try to make use of everything," Beaty said. "If something is really beyond repair, then we have to pitch it."

The thrift shop has seen a lot of success over the past few decades, but staff are always looking to the future and ways the store can improve, Beaty said. One such improvement is updating the receipt system for donated items, increasing the ease at which residents can donate, she said.

Management is also evaluating the store's future, all of which is being discussed in its five-year plan.

"We aren't a small mom and pop thrift store anymore," Beaty said. "We want to grow, minimize cost and raise income."

Volunteers

With all the success the Lake Travis Thrift Shop has experienced in its 21 years of existence, none of it would be possible without the efforts of its volunteers, Sandy Beaty said.

"With [the volunteers], this place runs like a machine," she said. "It's a very fun place to volunteer, and many of us have developed life-long friendships."

LTTS has about 110 volunteers on its roster, but a lot of them are retirees and travel, Beaty said. The store averages about 12 volunteers a day with many volunteering multiple days a week, she said.

Products and donations

The holidays are always a big donation period, Seasonal Manager Linda Horton said.

"There is always a big influx of toys after Thanksgiving," Horton said. "Parents are donating toys in preparation for Christmas."

Horton said LTTS also receives a large number of donations before and after Christmas and right before school begins.

With all of the donations, the store is hard-pressed to be competitively priced, but the large variety of experience from the volunteers goes a long way in alleviating that problem, Store Manager Sandy Beaty said.

"We have price guidelines and specific people who [work with] specific sections," Beaty said. "We are pulling in all this experience from people who use eBay, ran art stores and are knowledgeable about antiques."

The thrift shop also receives outside volunteer help. Pest control and trash and recycling pickup are done on a volunteer basis, and all jewelry is appraised by a local jewelry store on a volunteer basis, Beaty said.

Lake Travis Thrift Shop, 1508 S. RR 620, Ste. 105, Lakeway, 512-263-0314, www.laketravisthrift.com