I had the privilege of having a tour of the Food Bank and it was truly impressive…read more The Food Bank is well organized and has a large contingent of dedicated volunteers. They receive food donations from all around the County, as well as working with other organizations to share and swap depending on their needs. The Food Bank has a long respected history in the County and provides an incredible number of food to people each month. Some are people who visit the Bank regularly and others come and go because they have hit a rough patch.

Unfortunately I have had to access this service but fortunately we do have this service and this…read moreone is extremely well run by caring, compassionate, empathetic individuals. They do not make you feel any less of a person because you access the service they provide unlike other places I had to access and only visited once! I was astonished at the amount of foodstuffs that I received and the other little things they have in their office. I took in a number of things that I received as gifts that I can't use and they are placed on their shelfs for others to take. The dedication of the volunteers here is phenomenal and the smiles contagious. Thanks to everyone in the county who donates as well.

The Find centre is such a great store! Checking out used retail and vintage stores used to be my…read moreweekend entertainment prior to the pandemic. I miss just going to check things out and possibly find some treasure. You can drop off items still and order online if you want to. If you want to go in person they enforce masking and capacity limits. They have a big selection of items from furniture and home goods to art and music and books etc. The Core Principle of Find is: FIND believes in the core principle of the Housing First program which states that "Every person has a right to as safe and secure home. " This is the same principle that has established planning at all levels of government in the effort to end homelessness." This is one of the best used retail locations int he City in my opinion. Check them out if you haven't already!

Before the pandemic, I was looking for my masseuse's new physio location, and I happened to drive…read moreby this place. Ooh! Gotta go in there sometime, I said. Fast forward after 2 years of hell. Was visiting my masseuse again, and had the day off so I thought, why not? Some really decent used quality furniture. I found some good books, and I was also in the market for some type of art for my upstairs bathroom that would tie the pale green walls to the brown ceramic tile. Found 2 panels with seashell-type motifs that would do nicely. Also, I recently had floor to ceiling bookshelves put in one room of my house, and was thinking the other day that I need a stool or a tuffet (more decorative than the plastic one from Canadian Tire) to thumb through my cookbooks for the perfect recipe. Score! Ignore the hideous plaid cushion. I have some foam cushioning I can repurpose, and will be recovering it. The top is hinged for storage, and it was only TEN BUCKS! Plus, I LOVE all the community help they provide. As an alternative to Value Village, that is pretty great. Am going to stop in regularly now to see what's new.

Wow, that's all I can say about everything that Chrysalis does. I have been to their Info Sessions…read morea couple of times and really, to get the full experience of what they do, GO TO AN INFO SESSION!!! They have both employment services and a volunteer program for people with intellectual disabilities. On the employment side, clients are assisted in finding meaningful employment in the community. On the volunteer side, the clients help out in various ways throughout the community - there's this amazing board of who is where, at what time, and who is there to support. It's a logistical balancing act that is very carefully done and has accumulated over 50,000 volunteer hours in the last year! AMAZING! There is also a phenomenal art program. I couldn't believe the level of art that came out of studio there - just blew my mind. Some of those most beautiful pieces I have seen! Check out an Info Session and enjoy lunch there too! Also - go to the Art Show!! Oh, just stop by the building and see everyone! Everyone is so nice!

A little art space with a lot of heart. This is an amazing community project that showcases pieces…read morefrom local artists. It's modern, bright and fun! If you're planning a small gathering, the space can be rented out for a very reasonable rate and they have tables and chairs if you need them. The atmosphere is relaxed and really cool. The art space is run by volunteers and thus they have short opening hours. If you find yourself near Alberta Ave on Wed-Sat afternoon be sure to stop in and see what's happening.

How can you say anything bad about the Make-a-Wish Foundation? The truth is you can't. They work…read moreeveryday to make wishes from true for children that are dealing with life threatening medical conditions. It's a great organization to donate too and if you visit the website you can see that they hope to make 65 wishes come true this year. That can't be an easy task at all but they work extremely hard to try and make it happened. I suggest that at the very least you visit the website and see how you can help.

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Eldon Johnson, the chief executive officer of this…read moreamazing organization, and he moved me to tears with stories of the miracles the Northern Alberta chapter have made happen for children and families whose lives are extremely challenged with illnesses. Every day they work to make dreams come true - whether it's sending a child and their family to Disney Land, giving them the thrill of meeting their favorite celebrity or taking an adventure they've always wanted to go on. Johnson has been part of hundreds of wishes, and when I met him he was involved in sponsoring a Home Makeover for a family with nine adoptive kids who risked losing them if they didn't pass new licensing standards put in place by the government. Eldon made some calls to people who made some calls to people and soon they had over 40 companies in Edmonton willing to help renovate the home. We live in a culture that turns a blind eye to suffering every day. If you want to be touched by magic, the Make-a-wish Foundation is a great place to volunteer or sponsor.

This thrift store is absolutely fine. Like many thrift shops nowadays, the pricing is getting a bit…read moreout of control. Well known clothing brands can creep up to what the sale price would have been when the items were new and there is a lot of junk in the household area at high prices. However, there are still some deals to be had. You just need to have some idea what you are looking at. The household area is pretty disorganized, particularly the larger items in the far back corner but otherwise the store is clean and open.

I came here on a whim today as I had time to kill and was looking for new books to read…read more This Salvation Army store includes a drop-off stop for your donations. It's easy to access as its right on 111 Ave but I think you can only access the store and adjoining parking lot by driving westbound on 111 Ave. The store is moderately sized. Clean and organized for the most part. They have your typical selection of goods separated in different parts of the store. Clothing, shoes, purses/bags, household items, home decor, kids/baby clothing & toys, books, CDs and other miscellaneous goods, plus a whole section in the back with what I assume are clean, inspected & wrapped mattresses for sale. I find the prices reasonable (way better than Value Village). I scored a like new huge fleece blanket with plastic backing that folds up into a convenient roll with a handle for $6.99 plus a leather portable computer case for $3.99 and a book for 99 cents

Such a little gem of a thrift store. You can tell that the people who work here take pride in what…read morethey do (and I love that my cash goes back to the community). I can never seem to leave without buying something.

CASH ONLY. But there is a bank machine 30 seconds up the street or right across the street at the…read morepub. This store is very quaint, family-ran, and the prices (on almost everything) are waaay lower than at a "big name" second hand store. It's pretty crowded in the store, you do spend a good portion of your time either in someone's way or with someone in your way lol, but the adorable lady that runs it is soooo nice. There's usually a few FREE items outside on the sidewalk (weather permitting) as well. Not a huge selection of clothes, the majority of the clothes they have are either for toddlers or older generations, they've got a fairly extensive Linens/Fabric/Sewing Misc. section, and LOTS of household-y stuff, mostly Kitchen related. Big selection of picture frames as well.

I've been shopping here for years and the selection of items is always fantastic and reasonably…read morepriced. The staff are friendly and helpful. Best thrift store in Sherwood Park. 5 stars!

I have gotten some amazing deals and had some rare finds at the Sherwood Park locations of…read moreSalvation Army's competitors and was expecting the same here. Today however I left the store empty handed and found the experience to be rather average at best. First though on the positive end of the spectrum I will say the store is VERY clean and well organized. It took my normal expectations of second hand store cleanliness and blew it right out of the water. Also the ladies working here all seemed really nice and appeared to be enjoying their jobs which really goes a long way in creating a nice atmosphere. What I didn't enjoy however was the very limited selection here. It's summer now yet the pants and long sleeved things were still dominating about 75% of the rack space I would say and I only found a single pair or shorts in my size to try on. Also I find it slightly concerning that this charity has started to creep slowly towards falling into the Value Village habit of over estimating the value of their goods. I found a disturbing number of George brand t-shirts for $3.99 for example....why would anybody pay that when you can spend 5-8 dollars and get one brand new? Not a terrible store by any means and it's a great alternative if you want to support a charity as opposed to Value Village but I think there are some areas they could stand to improve on. Goodwill is definitely still my thrift store of choice when out and about here in Sherwood Park.