Since its inauspicious beginnings in 1987, when the charity was established with a food bank in a personal garage and thrift items in what was long ago the Fred Cox Jewelry store at 620 E. Fourth, the thrift shop has grown.

Last week, The Good Shepherd celebrated its 10th anniversary of being in its current location at 423 E. Fourth St. To acknowledge the significance of the anniversary, as well as the charity’s long history in Tonganoxie, a luncheon for volunteers took place Thursday at 304 E. Fourth St., a former church and now the Venue 304 event center where the thrift shop resided from 1988 until 2015.

The event also acknowledged a new facet of the thrift shop — the 2024 opening of the Good Shepherd Furniture Shop and Christmas Shop across the street at 408 E. Fourth, in the former Ladd Plumbing building. 

The non-profit charitable organization gives not only a place for everyone to shop, but also serves as a financial-assistance resource for residents of Leavenworth County and Jefferson County who can apply for assistance with expenses including rent and utilities.

The Good Shepherd also provides food through a food bank located in a small room where every inch of space counts. This encompasses grocery shelves filled with canned foods, cereals, baking mixes, and more. In a refrigerator are shelves of fresh farm eggs donated by local individuals. Much of the food is donated through food drives held by local schools and some churches, as well as by individual donations. The thrift shop also purchases some of the grocery items to stock the shelves.

The non-profit organization is managed and operated by volunteers, including a 10-member board of directors; general manager Valerie Francis; co-managers Sandy Jackson and Jennice Baragary; and more than 60 other volunteers, most of whom put in three to six hours on any day they work. No one is paid, but the rewards are many, including the rich opportunity to build friendships with other volunteers as they work together toward a common goal — to provide help for those who need it.  

Calls come in daily for assistance. On a recent Wednesday morning when Francis answered the office phone, it was a call from someone who needed a knee stroller to use during recuperation from surgery. Francis knew just where one was — upstairs with all the other donated medical equipment that is loaned out free of charge. She arranged for the individual to pick it up on Saturday.

“We do stuff like this all the time,” Francis said.

One might wonder when cleaning out their attic and dropping things off at the thrift shop how much of it is usable.

“All of it,” Francis said. “Nothing goes to waste.”  

Here’s how it works. On days the thrift shop is open, donations are accepted at the back dock (of both the thrift shop and the furniture shop) from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Once inside, sorters select items that will go on store shelves, and other items are set aside to sell later or to be shared with other organizations and charities. But even with donations deemed store-shelf worthy, their time is limited. Price tags are dated, and with the exception of antiques and furniture, after 60 days, these items are pulled off the shelves to be sent to other charitable agencies. Because of this, nothing grows stale, and every visit to the Good Shepherd offers new discoveries.

These discoveries are made possible because of the generosity of many — those who donate and those who volunteer their time. The charity could not operate without volunteers, said Francis, noting that in 2024, volunteers logged 17,275 hours at Good Shepherd. While impressive, this doesn’t even count the after-hours work. On their own time and in their own vehicles, volunteers deliver metal, plastic and glass to recycling centers, and go out of their way to help others as needed. While volunteers can be of any age, many are in the 50-60 range, and several are in their 90s. Some of the volunteers have been there for more than 25 years.

Since its founding in 1987, the Good Shepherd has unfolded into an outreach organization that helps in many areas of the community. For instance: 

• Provides financial support for about 10 different charities and organizations. This includes Leavenworth County Meals on Wheels, a children’s home in a nearby community, a battered women’s shelter, a respite care center to help families who have a loved one diagnosed with dementia, the Alliance Against Family Violence and more.

• Serves as a resource for students attending area schools. Donates clothing for student emergencies, prom dresses and suits for the high school’s Cinderella’s Closet, gives professional-type clothing to students to wear to job interviews and job fairs, pays end-of-year student lunch balances, helps with back-to-school supplies and gives dozens of new noise-canceling headsets to schools each year.  

• Provides nutritious snacks for the Chieftain Café, the after-school program at the Tonganoxie Public Library. 

• Good Shepherd volunteers operate the Harvesters Mobile Food Pantry, open once a month at Cornerstone Family Worship church. 

• Works with veterans’ organizations to ensure area veterans can select food and clothing they need. This is to the point where volunteers know some of the specific veterans’ food preferences and make sure these items are on hand. It’s not uncommon for a case worker to drive four or five veterans from Leavenworth once a month. 

• Food bank clients receive a set amount of staple food items depending on family size, and they also are able to come in have a say in what items they receive.

Across the street

The Furniture Shop and Christmas Shop was a long-time dream, said Francis.

“It took us three years to get that idea off the ground,” she said. “In our current building, we had to turn away a lot of furniture because we didn’t have space.” 

A year ago, when two buildings across the street became available, the Good Shepherd took a leap of faith, purchasing both buildings. It was a wise decision, Francis said, noting furniture sales have been even better than expected.

The furniture store gives Tonganoxie’s downtown an uptown look. Much of the furniture looks like new, and all of it has been cleaned and repaired, if necessary. On Saturday morning Topeka family Mark and Tiffany Murnahan and their sons Jack and Jude carried new-used chairs out to their car. From there they went into the thrift shop where they had fun carrying on a family tradition of trying on hats and fun clothing. 

Basehor resident Tammy Smolinskie is a regular visitor to the thrift shop and now to the furniture shop.

“I love it, I try to make it here every Saturday,” she said. “They always have great items. It’s very clean and very pleasant and I like going in and talking to the ladies, and you don’t want to leave.

“This is my store.” 

Longtime volunteer Jenny Gray, who now volunteers several days a week in the furniture/Christmas shops, hugged Smolinskie as she left. The thrift shop is a place where friendships are built, both among volunteers and with those who shop there.

Jackson said the volunteers themselves are like one big family. “We look out for each other, and we’re there for each other when someone is in need. It might be taking meals to a volunteer who is ill, or giving them a ride to Good Shepherd. This means a lot to people, and we want them to know how much they’re appreciated.”

Paying it forward

Beneficiaries of the thrift shop’s financial assistance program are grateful, as well, said Baragary, noting a client came into the store recently and handed her some money for Good Shepherd. “She said, ‘ Now it’s time for me to give back. I’m paying forward to thank you for helping me when I needed it, and I plan to continue giving every month.'”  

Another client, Francis said, lacked the financial means to show thanks by donating, so she offered her skills and helped with painting walls. 

But it’s important to note that when financial assistance happens, the recipients are not expected to pay anything back, Francis said.

Where the donations come from

“Most of our donated items come from people in the Tonganoxie and Basehor communities,” Francis said. “They are extremely generous.”

Donations may include electronic devices such as stereos, radios and DVD players. Several volunteers work out of a small repair shop in a back room, including Reno resident Ray Stockman.  He said all electronics are cleaned and checked to make sure they’re in working order before going on store shelves. The thrift shop is careful about accepting donations of used televisions, as if they’re not repairable, they have to pay to recycle them. But occasionally, a television makes it to the store shelves, and when that happens, they’re snapped up quickly. 

And sometimes, thrift shop volunteers go on the lookout for items that the thrift shop needs. Francis noted that a green bench in front of the thrift shop seemed to be a popular spot for people to sit and visit. So she went online and found a similar used bench — at a bargain price, of course.

“We’re thrifty with what we buy and with what we sell,” she said.

The Good Shepherd turns a profit every year, all of which ultimately goes back to help others.

“You would not know that there was close to a depression going on, because each year our sales and profitability increase anywhere tom 10 to 20 percent,” Francis said. 

While thrift shop prices are low, there was an increase in one area in 2024.

“We raised the prices of clothes by a dollar,” said Baragary. “They’re now $4 instead of $3.”

There is an exception though. International clothing company Peruvian Connection, owned by Annie Hurlburt and headquartered near Tonganoxie, donates high-end clothing several times a year. These items are a bit pricier, and shoppers line the sidewalk to be first in the door on the opening days of these sales. 

Overall, the thrift shop is more like a department store, offering something for everyone, said Francis.

“We take pride in what we put out, and we care,” she said.” I tell people this is the best scavenger hunt for adults that you can find.” 

And yet it’s so much more. Volunteers are quick to say they find a way to help everyone. If someone comes in who has nothing, volunteers will hunt up a backpack and eating utensils, can opener, canned food and bottled water. If they need a sleeping bag or a tent, and there’s one on hand, they’ll give them those, too. 

Even then, volunteers may go home at night and worry about the people they serve. 

“It’s for the good of the community,” said Francis. “That’s the whole purpose of what we do to help people in our community who are having a rough time.”