The Indian Valley Thrift Shop Association has not only come back after the Dixie Fire. It has roared back, reported Sherilyn Schwartz, treasurer of the community-based organization.
She and most of the 40 volunteers celebrated the shop’s one-year anniversary June 15 at a event emceed by Jeannie Sousa, to the background of John Philip Sousa marches.
In the year since it reopened in its new location at The Spot in Greenville, the volunteer-run and -managed enterprise has earned enough money from sales and donations to award $8,400 in scholarships and donations to the community, Sousa reported.
“Little by little we are putting it back together,” she said.
Before the fire, the thrift shop was one of the busiest businesses in Greenville. In the previous year, the nonprofit association donated $25,000 in grants and scholarships to local students and groups.
After the fire the volunteers regrouped, purchasing a modular building for $1 from Plumas Unified School District and hauling it to The Spot. They met for eight months, working to bring it all together so the shop could open.
At the anniversary celebration they recognized Cassie Barr, who made the land available, and Kest Porter, who helped acquire the building. Schwartz had certificates for each of the 28 people who contributed to the reopening in 2023.
The event included dedicating a bench to Corky Porterfield, who served as thrift shop president during COVID and after the fire. She died in November 2023.
“She was the glue. She kept us all together,” Schwartz said.
The bench was made by Erik Roosenshoon, of Rose Island Cabinets in Portola, using wood burned by the Dixie Fire. He donated the bench to the thrift shop.
Porterfield would have appreciated that, said her daughter Jen Meyers. Porterfield’s life was centered around service to others. After the fire the thrift shop gave her a focus. “It gave her purpose when everything felt so out of control,” Meyers said.
The Indian Valley Thrift Shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and accepts donations most days.
Information provided by Indian Valley Thrift Shop Association
