Shopping for Good in WRJ
Uplifting Thrifting: A Non-Profit with an Attitude — Vermont Style
May 28, 2026
White River Junction, Vt — Who walks into a thrift store and gets greeted as if they’re the most important person in the world? Yesterday, that’s what happened to me when I wandered into Uplifting Thrifting, that little thrift shop that occupies a chunk of the train depot at 102 Railroad Row in White River Junction. I was pleasantly surprised, if not overwhelmingly thunderstruck.
Uplifting Thrifting lives up to its name, not just because its profits support children and families in the Upper Valley, but because this is a non-profit with an attitude. And a highly positive one at that. Samantha, the store manager, said as much when she told me and a group of college students hunting for bargains, “Here, we like to have fun!” This little gesture of a smile and some kind words of welcome turned the entire shopping experience into one where we all started talking about what we were looking for, where we were from, and how beautiful a day it was to be in the Upper Valley. This generally doesn’t happen in any store let alone a thrift shop where the shopping experience is usually solitary and limited to simply finding a good deal, paying, and heading elsewhere. Uplifting Thrifting, however, is a place to linger and visit for a while.
Here, I felt uplifted from the moment I walked in the door. Then, when I learned the profits from the shirt I’d purchased would be used to help children and families in need locally, I felt truly gratified. This cultural mindset that a thrift store’s atmosphere should impact every customer positively and directly is something Uplifting Thrifting’s founder and owner, Gail Egner, believes in strongly. And that plays out in wonderful ways as the shop’s manager, Samantha (Sam) Mohn, puts her all into welcoming, assisting, and thanking people each day. I felt it and was, well, uplifted!
Oh, and there’s more. I found THE shirt I was looking for in a matter of minutes on the men’s shirt rack. When I asked about the price, Samantha inquired as to whether I lived locally. My positive response saw the price drop from $5 to $3. When I told her I planned to write a Substack article about Uplifting Thrifting, the price went to zero. I paid the $5, took a few more photos, and promised Samantha that I’d write an article in short order. People around the Upper Valley, and all visitors to White River Junction, simply need to know this exuberant little thrift shop experience exists.
I often drop off and pick up friends and family at the train station in WRJ. While I’d been into Uplifting Thrifting in its early days back in 2019, my various train station visits had been in the shop’s off hours, plus there had been train station construction that limited its access, and, as I learned yesterday, a robbery that set the shop back on its heels for a while.
Having owned and run Long River Gallery just across the train tracks next door to The Hotel Coolidge, I could certainly identify with “shrinkage,” or, to put it bluntly, theft. To contemplate theft is disconcerting enough, but to know a non-profit thrift store was robbed this past October is downright maddening. I hope it never happens again. All that’s being done is harm to others. After all, the staff at Uplifting Thrifting are all volunteers. They’re offering their time for free to help others. The people benefitting from this local non-profit business venture are children and families in need. Please don’t steal from them.
I now have a new (to me) organic cotton shirt that I’m happily wearing. More importantly, I have a newfound understanding of a local business that’s helping our Upper Valley community in ways that matter. Oh, and Uplifting Thrifting’s inventory is vast and worth perusing. There are some great “finds” here that await. Pay a visit on your next swing through White River Junction. Or make a special trip. You won’t be disappointed. Parking is ample and free in the train station lot, and store hours are Thursday: 12p-6p; Friday: 11a-5p; Saturday: 10a-4p; Sunday: 10a-4p. More at their website at This Link.
Hope to see you there! (More photos are below…)
Dave Celone writes about food, art, education, and sometimes fun thrifts shops to visit, in and around the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Here are a more pix to help you get into the full Uplifting Thrifting experience:
