Liz Meyer, co-owner of Community Kindness, says the thrift store’s newly renovated upstairs serves as a way to offer clothes to a wide variety of customers from casual wear to wedding dresses.

LA GRANDE — Things are moving up at La Grande thrift store Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon.

The store, located on 1315 Adams Ave., recently concluded an upstairs expansion that added 6,600 square feet of space for the store to expand. With a whole new look and added room for services and donation intake, the store is ramping up operations to serve as a focal point for the La Grande community.

“What we want to do is really establish ourselves as a hub to help people,” said Liz Meyer, who runs the store alongside her husband Grant Meyer. “We decided to go for it. How could we not, for the community? We were getting a bit crowded, we need to make people feel more relaxed and have a nice atmosphere and get more stock out.”

Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon underwent the expansion this winter, officially opening up the new area to the public in early March.

The added space allows the thrift store to create an extensive clothing area, while anything from dishes, electronics, records and furniture can still be found in the downstairs area. In addition to the expansive new clothing area, the space now includes two dressing rooms, a backroom for preparing the clothing and a meeting room for employees and board members. The added upstairs area increased the store’s clothing capacity significantly, allowing for a variety of brands, clothing types and even unique items like wedding dresses.

In a large thrift store, the intake of donations can be an overwhelming task. The new backroom area now helps Meyer and the staff meticulously organize the items through the process of donation, cleaning, cataloging and shelving for sale. Every item in the new upstairs clothing area is itemized and color blocked for convenience to the customer.

“You have to be organized for it to be right,” Meyer said.

Meyer initially expressed concern over ADA accessibility in adding an upstairs section, but the staff came up with a solution that makes the shopping experience easier for any customer in Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon. The thrift store uses a tablet that lists the shop’s inventory, and personal shoppers pick out clothes from the upstairs section for customers.

“I want it to be nice for people,” Meyer said. “It’s been a really rough three years for people.”

The renovation process involved a group effort, as local entities made a difference in the process. Carpet One Floor and Home donated and installed the carpeting on the new staircase, while former businesses Bealls and The Peanut Gallery donated shelves and racks that adorn the upstairs floor. The renovation involved in-house work as well as volunteer work and contractors.

Founded in 2019, Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon Thrift store is the main fundraiser for the Community Kindness organization. Since that point, Meyer and the staff have placed a large emphasis on giving back to the community. The store’s manager hopes to continue sponsoring local organizations, churches, care facilities, schools and everything in between.

“This is my contribution to my community, which accepted me 21 years ago,” Meyer said “People come in and smile. They love it. If I can make people happy and smile, that is what I always want to do.”

Meyer is originally from England, which is made evident by the store’s British flags adorning the exterior and the shelf full of candies and food items from her home country. Since joining on at the thrift store, Meyer has placed an emphasis on serving as a community centerpiece that gives back.

The store’s manager works roughly 60 to 70 hours per week, strictly on a volunteer basis. Meyer credits a steady flow of hard-working volunteers in bringing Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon to where it is now.

“I absolutely love what I do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Meyer said. “If we can make a difference in someone’s life, then this is what we’re going to do.”

Upon completion of the expansion project, Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon is currently back on its regular schedule and open to the public.

“It’s a very generous community,” she said. “I couldn’t do this without them. It’s a community teamwork experience.”