GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – A longtime Fruita staple is celebrating 75 years of giving back to the community.
What started as a small effort to support a local hospital has grown into a community cornerstone.
“We started back in 1951 in the back of a feed store, and the first sale was a five-cent teacup,” said Janet Mossburg, vice president of Fruita Thrift Shop. “And then they moved to two other places, and in 1993 they bought this building. And since then, in 1993, we’ve given probably over a million dollars back to the community.”
The shop’s origins trace back to the 1950s, when a group of women came together to address a need at Lower Valley Hospital.
“They were starting the Lower Valley Hospital in the 50s, and they needed an incubator,” said Lisa Panevics, president of the Fruita Thrift Shop. “So these ladies got together and decided to have some type of yard sale to raise money to buy the incubator for the hospital. And as they got together and started chatting, they decided they needed a thrift store for this growing community that they could help support and give back to. And thrift shop was born.”
Over the decades, the Fruita Thrift Shop has expanded, raising money for local causes and relying entirely on volunteers.
“It’s been a milestone that’s taken 75 years to give back to the community,” Mossburg said. “But we love Fruita, and we love the people that come and volunteer and work with us.”
That sense of community is what keeps the shop running through challenges like COVID and continued growth in the area.
“We’re 100% volunteer. We don’t have any paid positions. Everybody is, you know, totally volunteer,” Mossburg said. “I believe right now we have 87 volunteers. We’re at 87 this week. But we can use more.”
Now, 75 years later, leaders say the mission remains the same: supporting Fruita and the people who call it home.
