Mabscott, WV (WOAY) –Â Theodore Richardson never planned to run a thrift store. He says the idea came at the start of 2025, when he was sick, on dialysis, and at one of the lowest points of his life.
“I prayed for help, first time I’d prayed in a long time. And God put this on my heart to start it. And I told him, I said, I can’t do that. I can’t take care of myself. I can’t even cross the room. How am I going to do something like that?” Richardson said.
He says he was hesitant at first but felt pulled toward the mission. He began by selling donated items beside the road, then moved on to summer yard sales that he says raised 5,000 dollars for local food banks. By November of 2025, the store had opened in an old school building in Mabscott, with every dollar of proceeds, Richardson says, going to local food banks.
“We’ve got 14 right now and a couple more, we’re waiting for the paperwork to come through, but we try to support them best we can,” Richardson said.
Inside, the store stays busy, its shelves packed with clothes, antiques, hygiene items, and other odds and ends. Richardson says he built it because everyone deserves to be able to afford goods.
“One of the things we need to do is make things affordable for anybody who walks through the doors. I don’t care what you do for a living, or even if you do anything for a living. You should be able to walk in and get you some clothes or something you want or need,” Richardson said.
The challenge now, Richardson says, is keeping up. Donations are coming in faster than his team can sort them, and the store’s processing center is falling behind.
“The more people we have, the easier it will be. We are in dire need of anyone who has the time to volunteer, whether it be a couple of hours a week or three or four days a week,” Richardson said.
And for anyone with extra to give, Richardson says it will be put to good use.
“If you’ve got a yard sale that you’re done with or an estate sale you’re done with or things laying around the house and you don’t want to have a yard sale, you just bring them down here, and, you know, we’ll take care of it. We’ll turn it into food for somebody,” Richardson said.
Thriftin It Forward is located at 103 Vision Street in Mabscott, welcoming shoppers and donations. Anyone who wants to volunteer can reach Richardson at 304-228-3522 or message the store on Facebook.
