BRANDON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Rutland County thrift store is celebrating a major milestone by making a big donation to help the town of Brandon go green.
Instead of throwing a celebration for its golden jubilee, Nifty Thrifty President Laura Peterson wanted to give back to the town in a big way. The store donated $50,000 to the town’s Energy Committee to help fund solar panels on the police station, highway department, and electric car chargers.
“We wanted to give something that would affect, benefit everybody in town, and we wanted it to maybe last for 50 years,” Peterson said.
Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins says the solar panels could help save $10,000 a year by offsetting costs. “I think I should say I’m surprised, but because it’s Nifty Thrifty, I’m not surprised because they’ve had such a great track record,” Hopkins said. “It’s local people supporting them with their donations, it’s local people staffing the shop. and it’s local people who are giving back to the community,”
The store is volunteer-run run and Peterson says while business has been good, savings have been key. “Just scrimping and saving. We don’t spend money on ourselves, so whatever money we make, it goes in the bank; Quarter by quarter, dollar by dollar, it adds up,” Peterson said.
Peterson says she also hopes the donation will help bring in new customers to mark their major milestone. “People have lived in town and not known about us for 50 years, so I’m hoping more people are aware of us,” she said.
Town officials expect construction of the panels to begin in the spring.
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