Thrift with a mission: New Marshall store turns bargains into lifelines for Veterans

Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Battle Creek series.

MARSHALL, MI — A thrift store in Marshall is giving shoppers an opportunity to save money and lives.

In late September, Volunteers of America Michigan opened MIThrift Marshall in a 44,000 square-foot space that is part of the former Kmart Plaza at 15863 W. Michigan Avenue. Revenue generated by the shop plays a vital role in covering gaps in veteran funding, especially in VOA’s veteran services, which often face the greatest financial challenges, says Lindsey Dyches, Communications and Public Relations Manager for VOA Michigan, headquartered in Southfield.

“In addition, thrift sales help sustain our broader mission, including affordable housing, veteran services, and community programs, by supporting overhead and facility maintenance costs,” she says.

Suicide prevention and engagement services for veterans and their families, and a Homeless Veterans Reintegration, which provides employment and training services for veterans, are among the free services offered out of a small office space at 2 West Michigan Avenue. These services are provided by veterans who have gone through the suicide prevention program, as well as spouses of those vets.

VOA’s Michigan affiliate also owns and manages Liberty Commons, a 158-unit apartment complex in Battle Creek, which provides affordable housing primarily to veterans and their families, seniors, and persons with disabilities. This housing is supported mostly through HUD (Housing and Urban Development) funding and income-based rent contributions from residents, Dyches says.

“We focus on serving groups where we can make the greatest impact,” Dyches says. “Based on our expertise and resources, these demographics are where we are best equipped to provide meaningful support across the state.”

Liberty Commons is one of 11 housing facilities in VOA Michigan’s portfolio. The other facilities are located in Clinton Township, Detroit, Redford, River Rouge, and Taylor.

Dyches says all of the Marshall store’s revenue is being used to help veterans in the Southwest Michigan region. The store has a small staff augmented by volunteers who help sort donated items. However, VOA Michigan like also provides services and support to persons with disabilities, seniors, and families experiencing financial challenges.

In addition to Marshall, VOA Michigan owns and manages stores in Burton, Corunna, Lansing, Saginaw, and Westland.

The organization’s first thrift store opened 30 years ago in Lansing. It quickly gained a bug following. Dyches says the second store was added to “meet demand, provide more affordable shopping options, create more opportunities for the community to support our mission, and allow us to expand our impact locally.”

Like the other stores, the one in Marshall has an assortment of donated items like clothing, household items, furniture, old video game systems, and seasonal goods available for purchase at thrift store prices. Dyches says she saw one customer purchase a trumpet.

Close to 900 people came into the store when it officially opened, according to a post on Facebook.

The store is the newest and biggest tenant space-wise in a plaza, renamed Marshall Plaza, that sat vacant after Kmart closed in 2020, says Derek Perry, Marshall City Manager.

“Nothing can demoralize or create concern in a community like a vacancy can,” Perry says. “It creates that negative energy, and when you see more and more storefronts empty, it just adds to that. Our priority is to get them filled.”

In 2024, a Tractor Supply Company store opened, followed six months later by a Dollar Tree Store. With the addition of the VOA store, the plaza is now filled. Perry says this is an example of positive energy breeding positive energy.

Having more retail options, he says, increases economic opportunities for everyone.

“You definitely want to have options for every demographic. Everyone needs clothing and household goods. As the economy becomes harder and harder for folks with less disposable income, this becomes an option for them.”

The shift to thrift

While resale does well all the time, “it does even better during an economic turn down,” said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Association of Resale Professionals, in an Axios article.

“President Trump’s global tariffs mean clothes at U.S. retailers stand to get a lot more expensive. With the U.S. importing nearly all of its clothing and shoes — more than half from China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh alone — soaring apparel prices could send shoppers thrifting.”

Key findings in a 2025 Recommerce Report by OfferUp include:

• 93% of shoppers bought a secondhand item in the past year, confirming that resale is now a staple of everyday shopping.
• The Recommerce market increased from $139.6 billion in 2020 to $228.6 billion in 2025. By 2030, it is expected to reach $306.5 billion.

“Secondhand shopping is no longer a niche habit, it’s how most Americans shop,” says the report, “70% of shoppers say the stigma around secondhand shopping has lessened in the past year, signaling broad social acceptance.”

The report defines Recommerce as, “The simple act of buying and selling secondhand to save money, keep good stuff out of landfills, and connect with neighbors along the way.”

In 2024, VOA’s Michigan affiliates saved 20 million pounds of items from going into landfills, Dyches says.

“Our shoppers like the idea of getting a good deal and also making an environmental impact,” she says.

Many of these shoppers are members of Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, who are driving the popularity of thrifting, says the Recommerce report. This type of shopping is a way for them to save money and support sustainability.

54%of Gen Zers and 44% of Millennials choose secondhand over new, the majority of the time, says the Recommerce report.

Although he acknowledges that he’s not a thrifting aficionado, Perry says he has young adult children who will “literally spend a Saturday thrifting.”

He says the Marshall store will be a regional draw that could potentially benefit the city in different ways.

“I hope that after they’re done shopping at the VOA store, they’ll come downtown and shop at some of our unique, boutique-style stores and eat at one of our restaurants,” Perry says. “We appreciate VOA’s investment and their specific business model to help veterans. It’s easy to forget that these organizations have other options.”