“Throughout the years, I would watch the women come in who needed clothing and have to dig through a trash bag,” founder Anika Cooper said. “I just felt like they deserved better.”
Merchandise in the store, which opened in Richardson on July 14, includes lightly used secondhand clothing, furniture and household items. Items are collected through donations and offered to women in recovery at little or no cost. The general public can also shop the store.
All proceeds from Simply Thrifty benefit Simply Grace House, which Cooper started in 2013 after her own experience in recovery. The nonprofit operates seven sober living homes across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 2018, the organization opened a counseling center on Arapaho Road, just across the way from Simply Thrifty.
“I had an idea to open a house that was a lot more structured than where I lived and had a lot more accountability,” she said. “We give them a safe place to be successful.”
The store also provides work opportunities and helps foster job skills for women recently released from jail or drug treatment centers. Women in recovery receive vouchers to shop in the store once they have moved into their own homes. This offer is extended beyond those who live in the Simply Grace homes, Cooper said.
“They are furnishing their whole house, and they’re getting it for a steal,” she said.
Cooper said she has been pleasantly surprised by the store’s performance during the coronavirus pandemic.
“When this idea came to me a couple months ago, I had no idea that it was going to be as successful as it’s been for our organization,” she said.
Those who would like to donate to the store can drop off lightly used clothing, shoes, appliances, furniture and more.
“This is just not a thrift store—it’s benefiting people’s lives,” Cooper said.
Simply Thrifty
580 W. Arapaho Road, Ste. 199, Richardson
214-774-9808
www.simplygracehouse.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.
