Weaving hope and opportunity

It's a place where Dayton families can get a good deal, or where seniors can stop to pass the time.

It's a place to give, a place to receive, and a place to be connected to the community while helping Lyon County's young people.

The Community Threads & Things Thrift Shop on Shady Lane in Old Town Dayton is "a cycle of people helping people," said store manager Liza McGann.

"The thing about this store is it is not only a shop, but it's a social center," she said. "People come here sometimes just to talk. It's a lot of fun."

But the store is still unknown to many Dayton residents, despite being in operation for about two years, McGann said.

"We get people in every day who didn't know we were here, but heard about us from a friend," she said. "That's the hardest thing for us, getting the word out that we're here."

Community Threads & Things is sponsored by Central Lyon County Youth Connections and designed to eventually help fund youth programs, said executive director Michele Watkins.

Though the store right now breaks even, Watkins said she hopes it will one day bring in $40,000 annually.

The donated items include clothing - the most common - housewares, books and now furniture.

"We have purchased a new furniture tent, and now we are accepting and selling furniture," McGann said. "We're hoping to make furniture our main item."

In the tent, shoppers can find couches, dressers, coffee and end tables, a brand-new queen-size mattress and even a piano. Inside the store, a mahogany low-boy with the original tag showing a price of $999 is now $250.

McGann said there are items the store will not accept.

"We don't accept used mattresses," she said. "And we don't accept exercise equipment because we can't sell it and it costs a lot to take it to the dump."

Community Threads & Things also will not accept large appliances because there's no way to test them in advance to see if they work, McGann said.

She said clothing is still the most common item sought. There are racks for women's clothing, children's, teens and, the hardest to find, men's clothing.

"The men's department is more difficult to keep stocked because men don't usually give up their clothes," she said. "We have the teen rack, and I check with the local teens to see if I'm doing good stocking their rack, if it's really what kids are wearing."

Offering fashions for the young isn't the only benefit to Lyon teenagers, McGann said. Local youth can perform community service at the center and earn high school credit while learning some important skills.

"They can learn how to use the cash register and how to deal with the public," McGann said.

Donors can also help young people by dropping money into the Dust Devil High School Scholarship donation box.

McGann, who taught disabled adults in Los Angeles before coming to Nevada, said she has a six- to seven-page customer "want" list, but added, "I'm getting to the point where I know my customers so well, I know right away what they need."

The shop also supplies needed items to other nonprofit organizations and donates items to people in emergency situations, such as fire victims.

Shoppers can also find jewelry, housewares, linens, a book nook and a crafting section. Outside the shop is a shed with tools for the home-repair aficionado and several specially made decorative wooden sheds. Some are used for storage, McGann said, and one is for sale for $4,000.

On the lower-end side, the shop offers half-price sales on Wednesdays, and about every other Saturday, it offers a "bagful" of clothes for $5.

McGann has six or seven volunteers who do everything, from running the register to sewing and repairing donated clothing. Her customers range from the very young to the very old.

"We get a lot of elderly people," she said. "A lot like to come in, look around, and socialize. We also get young families who just can't afford to buy retail, and we get a lot of people who are thrifters."

-- Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.

Community Threads

& Things:

WHERE: 80 Shady Lane, Dayton

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday

CALL: (775) 246-2466

Who is helped:

Others who have received

assistance in books, clothing and other items from Community Threads & Things include:

• Soldiers in Iraq

• Fire victims

• KOLO-Channel 8 Coat Drive

• Lyon County foster children

• Lyon County Parks and Recreation after-school programs

• Mason Valley Boys and Girls Club of Schurz

• New Home Recovery Ranch in Silver Springs

• Silver City Library

• Silver Stage youth programs

• Carson City woman's shelter

• VISTA

• Bishop, Calif., Police Department's Hug-Me Bear Program

You can help:

To donate an item or volunteer, call Community Threads & Things at (775) 246-2466.