Flying Pig Thrift

FLYING PIG THRIFT (https://www.TheFlyingPigThrift.org) is a 501(c)(3) Minnesota nonprofit corporation. 

The store opened in July 2019 to honor the founder's sister who was a children's librarian and a life-long thrifter. 

The spirit of "reduce, reuse, recycle" is a basic part of the store's ethos. We try to add as little as possible to landfills by selling scrap metal, recycling plastic, and donating electronics (printers, computers, old CRT TVs, etc.) to local nonprofit organizations to be refurbished and sold. 

To keep overhead as low as possible (so there's more money to give away) we don't buy merchandise for the store. Everything for sale has been donated by the local community. After bills are paid and money is set aside for a "rainy day", store profits are donated to local nonprofit groups. Donating money to local nonprofits is a deliberate choice to keep money raised from selling community-donated items in the community. 

The Board chooses to support local nonprofits who work to strengthen our community in various ways and who support progressive/social justice causes.  

Flying Pig Thrift depends on volunteers. As another way to keep overhead low so there is more money to give away, the store has only 2 paid part-time employees and everyone else is a volunteer.  

Volunteer associates can expect each day to be fun and different and may be asked to help with a variety of things around the store, including: 

*Sort, clean and organize donated items; 

*Price items for sale in the store; 

*Help keep the store clean and organized; 

*Help customers at the cash registers; and  

*Interact positively with other volunteers and customers.  

Volunteer associates may also be able to gain some hands-on experience in aspects of retail merchandising such as creating displays, arranging merchandise for display and sale, assisting with event planning, and helping create online content. 

The store is open from 11-6 pm Tuesday - Saturday and there are two shifts each day:  

First shift is 11-2:30 pm

Second shift is 2:30-6 pm 

Volunteer associates can observe an example of nonprofit corporate governance by attending a monthly Board meeting. Meetings are held on Zoom at 7 pm on the third Monday each month. If you want to observe a Board meeting contact Cheryl Classen (cheryl.flyingpigthrift@gmail.com). 

We hope this information helps you understand a little about how the store works and a little about our goals of supporting the environment and our local community.  

You can start volunteering at Flying Pig Thrift by reaching out to Store Manager Cheryl Classen (cheryl.flyingpigthrift@gmail.com) or Assistant Manager Jude Lindemann (flyingpigthrift@gmail.com). Or stop in and say "Hi" and pick up a volunteer application.  

The store is at 722 Snelling Avenue North (corner of Snelling and Minnehaha) across from Ginkgo's Coffee Shop and Lloyd's Pharmacy.  We're looking forward to meeting you!