Those who love a bargain are frequent visitors to the Green Olive Tree, Crozet’s thrift shop. They’re likely to come away with a carefully curated item for the closet or kitchen, while helping support worthwhile Crozet institutions. Over the years, the Green Olive Tree, founded by a group of Christian women in 1979, has donated thousands of dollars to community services and institutions. Although it’s a thrift shop founded on Christian values, the Green Olive Tree welcomes shoppers and donors of all faiths.
There’s another clientele the volunteers who run the shop are eager to serve. People who have lost a home or job, or who can’t stretch their income through the month, are invited to shop there at no cost. To make it easy, and to ensure that everyone is served, they’ve devised a voucher system. Those who come with the required paperwork will be able to shop free of charge until Sept. 30, 2026.
For the individual shopper, volunteers will ask for a note on letterhead from a qualified agency—a church, social services, a school or another group that helps those in need. That enables the customer to pick up a bag for every two people in the family, and repeat the same amount every month. The bags are standard grocery-sized brown bags, and everything in the store is available except boutique items.
“We’re well tied into the churches, but we’d like all the schools and others who serve the community to know about our other ministry,” said Barbara Kellum, the volunteer who devised the voucher system. Teachers, counselors, social workers and civic groups— anyone who works with the disadvantaged—is invited to pick up a couple of bags each month by showing letterhead or other identification from their sponsoring agency.
Volunteers keep the shop running, and Kellum said they’re grateful for the dozens who staff the store and work behind the scenes. She extended special thanks to those willing to work in the sorting and storage shed in summer heat…