Hanover is a hotbed of thrift shops—and the resale of these treasures also revitalizes the community.
Story & Photography By Karen Hendricks
Shannon Barrett goes “thrifting”— or shopping at area thrift stores—at least once a week.
“My brother’s getting married in November, so I’ve been searching for a dress,” says Barrett, of Hanover. “I’ve looked online and have a couple items saved, but I’d rather be able to try it on, so I’ve been trying all the different area thrift stores.”
She has three dresses in her cart at Hanover’s Goodwill thrift store. All three are long, elegant and in beautiful condition; two of them sparkle with rhinestone accents. Around $10 each, the price is a good fit for her budget.
“It’s like an endorphin rush,” Barrett explains. “It’s so cool to find something so cheap that I know cost somebody else a lot of money.”
She’s not the only one who finds thrifting thrilling. More than 25,000 resale and consignment shops are scattered across the United States, according to the Association of Resale Professionals. Combined with online resales, the secondhand industry’s annual revenue is $53 billion—and it’s projected to reach $82 billion by 2026, accounting for 20% of the clothing industry by 2031, according to CNBC.
As we discovered, the south-central Pennsylvania area is contributing to this growing trend, with thrifted treasures galore. But many Hanover-area shops hold even deeper treasures—striking community gold.
Doing the Community Good
Goodwill is one of the most recognizable names in thrifting. Founded in 1902, the nonprofit is known for accepting many types of donations and reselling them at affordable prices—like the dresses Barrett found at the Hanover store.
Rows and rows of clothing fill the shop, all sorted by size and type. A plaid men’s flannel shirt and a lime green women’s fleece vest, both L.L. Bean, are $6.99 each. A set of baby bowls—still in their original packaging— are priced at $2.99, while a shiny silver Cuisinart toaster oven is tagged for $7.99.
“I found an old-school toy for my daughter,” Barrett says. “It’s a little matching Oreo thing from the early 2000s, and you pull the Oreos apart and they’re shapes. So I’m teaching her about shapes, while also getting a little bit of nostalgia for myself.”
Thrifting, for her, even ties into greater environmental benefits.
“I feel better buying things here, because I’m not contributing to the production of more stuff in a way,” explains Barrett.
She’s one of Goodwill’s many frequent shoppers.
“One lady comes in nearly every day—she buys things to help others,” says Mary Ann Hopkins, manager of Hanover’s Goodwill retail operation.
“A lot of our customers can’t afford to buy new things. Goodwill is really what it’s all about.”
And that goodwill can be defined in several ways. Not only do shoppers score gently used (sometimes brand new), affordable items, but every purchase sends positive ripple effects through the community.
“There’s a bigger mission,” says Hopkins.
It’s like a circle of recycling: The community donates items that find new uses, while proceeds benefit training programs and job skills that prove life-changing for area residents, transforming local workforces, economies and communities such as Hanover.
“We advance sustainability so that individuals and families can thrive and flourish” is the mission at Goodwill Keystone Area, a region encompassing 22 Pennsylvania counties—including York—containing nearly 50 Goodwill donation centers and stores. The statistics can be mind-blowing.
Every day, about 80 people drop off donations in Hanover, according to Hopkins. “January is the busiest month for donations. We put out about 1,500 pieces of clothing and about 2,000 new housewares every day.”
Many Goodwill “regulars” are resellers—including Barrett. She keeps an eye out for brand-name clothing she can resell online at slightly higher price points to a nationwide customer base of thrift shoppers.
“The other day I bought a Lilly Pulitzer dress from here, and I just sold it today. The past week, I’ve had seven items go out, and five were today,” Barrett says. “The big thing I’ve learned is you don’t want to make the price too high, because people are shopping online to find deals as well.”
She keeps a spreadsheet to track her listings. That Lilly Pulitzer dress cost her $9.99 at Goodwill, and she resold it for $25, netting her about $15, minus a small percentage taken by the site, with her customer paying shipping costs.
“I enjoy it—I don’t think of it as a job,” says Barrett, who considers it her side hustle, complementing her full-time job with the Commonwealth. “Sometimes I can get lost in here—and my husband calls and says, ‘Are you coming home soon?’”
Goodwill Hanover | 450 W. Eisenhower Dr., Hanover | yourgoodwill.org
Treasures of the Heart
Every day holds surprises at a thrift shop. Whether you’re a shopper or a store employee, you never know what treasures you’ll find.
“It’s everything, from clothing and shoes to toys and stuffed animals, housewares—from pots and pans to forks and spoons, small appliances, lamps and décor, hardware and tools, linens, blankets and curtains,” says Melissa Madrigal, manager of Treasures from the HART Thrift Store, located between Cross Keys and New Oxford.
All the “treasures” are community donations. Just the other day, Madrigal shares, she was shocked to find an authentic Michael Kors purse hiding in a donation bin. There’s a steady stream of sports memorabilia, plus one-of-a-kind jewelry. Sure enough, a tray at the counter holds a sparkling assortment of rings—including a large ruby-colored, emerald-cut stone.
But there’s more, much more, behind the scenes.
“The community is very supportive—they give us lots and lots,” says Madrigal, walking into the huge marking room lined with neatly stacked boxes, many labeled “Christmas.”
“The Christmas inventory grows every day,” says Madrigal, lifting several tiny hangers displaying baby onesies—tags still attached, “And sometimes people donate brand new items. We price them at one-third of the original price.”
Shoppers often share stories. One young man recently rounded up everything he needed for his college apartment’s kitchen. A family found dress pants for their young son so they could attend a funeral.
“People connect with the mission,” Madrigal says. “A lot of family members shop here.”
She’s talking about the HART Center’s mission, founded by area families as the Hanover-Adams Rehabilitation and Training Center.
Like peeling back layers of an onion, beyond the thrift shop and its storeroom, the heart of the HART Center is an expansive, warehouse-like space and a hub of activity.
The sign above the entrance proclaims, “Where friends work together.”
And indeed, there’s a welcoming, friendly spirit, as Leigh Anna Nowak, HART Center’s executive director, walks through the brightly lit space. Workers, called “consumers,” smile and wave as Nowak walks among work stations, stacked cardboard boxes and colorful products such as Utz potato chip bags.
“HART Center turns 55 years old next fall,” Nowak says. “It grew out of concerned parents, at the time, as an early form of employment for people with disabilities—specifically intellectual and developmental disabilities—and those with mental health diagnoses.”
Those Adams and York County parents, Nowak says, had the revolutionary foresight to create a cutting-edge program that still serves the community today. HART Center employs about 100 area residents through partnerships with Snyder’s of Hanover, Utz Foods, R.H. Sheppard, Schindler Elevator and other local companies.
One worker stops Nowak to tell her about his new puppy. Another proudly points to glossy white ceramic tiles, meticulously aligned, ready to be packaged. Some consumers can read and write. Others use color-coded systems—matching Utz chip bags by color into assorted snack boxes, for example. Jobs are available for all abilities, Nowak explains, as one consumer skillfully operates a forklift, its beeping announcing a new project’s arrival.
The thrift shop supports this beehive of activity. “It was solely developed to supplement our funding and be helpful to the programs we provide, a little like fundraising,” says Nowak.
All thrift store profits benefit the HART Center—in a continuous circle of community good.
“Our consumers have a strong work ethic—20 or more have worked here for years,” Nowak says. “One gentleman just turned 73. And one woman told me, ‘The HART Center saved my life—I love coming in every day.’”
HART Center | 450 East Golden Ln., New Oxford | hartcenterpa.org
It’s a Ministry
Pat Hubbard retired from her 45-year cosmetology career on Christmas day 2020. Little did she know that her retirement would be short-lived.
The following January, she received a phone call from Bonnie Miller, her church’s secretary, asking if she would consider coordinating the church thrift shop.
St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift Shop closed amid the pandemic shutdown, and the previous coordinators had retired. It would need new leadership to reopen.
“Can I think about it?” was Hubbard’s initial response.
So Miller made another call—to Joyce Smith, already a busy lady who spearheaded the church’s outdoor food pantry. But Smith had been involved in the thrift shop off and on dating back to 1995.
“I just hated to see the shop close,” says Miller. “I work full time at the church, so I couldn’t give a lot of working hours, but I thought we could at least try to reopen, the three of us, working together.”
Once she planted those seeds, it didn’t take long for the women to unite as a team.
By April 2021, with the help of dozens of volunteers, St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop reopened its doors.
The Hanover store’s multiple rooms are organized like a department store. In the ladies’ department, shoppers can find a complete outfit, accented with a hat, jewelry, coat or shoes. The hallway serves as an art gallery, connecting more departments: housewares, men’s and children’s clothing, toys and religious items—all donated.
Proceeds top $20,000 annually, providing tuition assistance to parish students in need at area Catholic schools, including Delone Catholic.
The financial support is powered by well-coordinated volunteer support. About 35 volunteers, spanning 40-something to 90-something, staff the thrift shop.
“It’s its own community—it gives so many of our volunteers purpose,” says Smith, explaining how, behind-the-scenes, donations go into an assembly-line process. Along the far wall of the marking room, there’s a washing machine and dryer, sink and dish racks, ironing boards and steamers.
Every donation is carefully cleaned, evaluated, priced and then put out for sale.
There’s a lot of value—but not only on the shelves.
“One of our volunteers lost her husband, and she was paired with another lady who lost her husband,” says Hubbard. “She told me it felt like a lifeline. There are a lot of tender moments like that. We’re much more than a thrift store—it’s really a ministry.”
That ministry extends to shoppers—grandparents shopping for their grandchildren, brides and their mothers searching for wedding reception glassware, a man shopping for area veterans. Volunteers share in the excitement of each shopper’s purchase.
Those thrifted blessings are incalculable: St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop is currently celebrating its 30th year of operation.
“When you think about the history of this shop, all the people who stepped up to the plate to keep it running over the years—that’s a higher power than us,” Hubbard says. “The good Lord brought us together, and we answered that calling.”
St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop | 224 3rd St., Hanover | svparish.org/thrift-shop
More Thrifty Destinations:
CommunityAid Hanover
793 Baltimore St., Hanover
communityaid.org
CommunityAid York
2001 Springwood Rd., York
Queensgate Shopping Center
communityaid.org
Immaculate Conception Thrift Shop
101 N. Peters St., New Oxford
icbvmnewoxford.org/thriftshop
Pippin’s New & Used
1418 Baltimore St., Suite 10, Hanover
facebook.com/pip4506
And did you know? The biggest thrift store in the nation is about 90 miles north of Hanover:
CommunityAid Selinsgrove
1070 N. Susquehanna Trail, Selinsgrove
communityaid.org
Be sure to check the shops’ websites for special promotions such as military, student and senior discount days. The savings can be as high as 50% off! Also be sure to note store policies. St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop, for example, is cash or check only.
