Caseville Mercantile

Sometime ago we posted a picture of Caseville Mercantile. The shot was from the late 1800’s and we had a hard time placing it until someone mentioned that it was general store was now the Helping Hands Thrift Shop on Main Street in Caseville. This is a mission of the Caseville United Methodist Church and is one of the most highly rated thrift shops in the region according to ratings on Yelp and Google. While not as big as those in the metro Detroit area, its clean, well-stocked and seems to turnover its inventory at a rapid pace.

A Little Bit of Everything

The Thrift Shop sells everything from clothing, toys, tools, household items, and decorations. A special area of vintage merchandise is located at the front of the store. During special seasons like Halloween, Fourth of July and Christmas special merchandise collections are organized and displayed to celebrate the season. There is also a special year-around collection of Christmas ornaments, lights and other festive decorations of the holiday season. There is also a special area for children’s books games and toys.

Helping Hands Pasties

Pasty

From time-to-time you may see that Helping Hands is taking orders for its delicious pasties. These are made from scratch and one makes a filling meal for two people. They typically make more than are ordered but they sell out quick.

Volunteers Make It All Happen

The Thrift Shop is staffed primarily by community volunteers who receive “store bucks” in exchange for their help. Then the volunteers can purchase items from the store with the bucks or currency script. The practice utilizing script that is as old as the country and currency script is seeing a reemergence.

Helping Hands Thrift Shop is open in the Summer every Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Winter hours from January through March are Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. Donations are taken at the side door from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Caseville Community Food Pantry

Helping Hands also operates a community food pantry program. Volunteers collect from metro area food banks, area grocery stores, farmers and local churches and transport it Caseville. The Caseville Community Food Pantry has started a program each fall to collect canned and food items from area cottage owners who head south for the winter. The Caseville Community Food Pantry is open on non-holiday Fridays from Noon to 3:00 pm.

A Caseville Community Focal Point

Caseville Methodist Church

The Thrift Shop and Pantry serves as the philanthropy focal point of Caseville and has donated to area schools, Police and Fire Departments. They also extend help to those touched by a personal disaster. The next time you’re in town be sure to drop off your donations and browse the shop. Also tell them to “keep the change” after your purchase. Every little bit helps.

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