Inside a 2,019 square foot space in the mall at the Yukon Inn on Fourth Avenue, a new floor is nearly down.

Reno materials are neatly stationed around the floor, ready for volunteers to pick up at the next work session.

A room toward the back of the space – which will eventually serve as an office space – features shelving, holding an eccentric variety of wares – hats, VHS movies, books, coffee mugs and more.

Two plastic pink flamingos and a dark jeweled sombrero are among the more unique items that Susie Anne Bartsch has come across since she began working with a number of other volunteers to get the city’s new thrift store up and running.

Bartsch is part of a core group of about nine (that has grown as large as 18 for individual events) who have been working to get the Whitehorse Community Thrift Store operating.

The move follows the closures of free stores at the city’s landfill and Raven Recycling Society premises. The Salvation Army closed its thrift store in April 2017, and no space for a replacement was incorporated into its new shelter building.

Work has been underway for more than a year looking at the possibility of opening a thrift store. It has included fundraising efforts such as an ongoing gofundme campaign ($6,500 generated so far), popup shops, a toonie sale and the like as planning has continued.

Bartsch highlighted the extensive community support there’s been along the way which.

Along with the fundraising efforts, that has included:

• $20,000 from the territory’s Community Development Fund for a feasibility study;

• $10,000 for start-up and development that came from being a finalist for the Cold Climate Innovation Prize for Social Enterprise; and

• a $4,000 territorial Environmental Awareness Fund Award for the Love2Thrift pop up shops.

Added to that, Bartsch noted in an interview with the Star Wednesday: “We have had so much support and encouragement from the community along the way with donations of supplies, furnishings, money, time.

“Special thanks to Zero Waste, NVD and Northstar Storage and the people of Yukon for getting behind this project.”

The group has continued to update the public via social media pages.

While Bartsch said the volunteers had hoped to have the store one by this point, it took some time to find the right location.

“There’s been a few spots we’ve looked at,” she said.

The chosen location had the right amount of space at a central downtown location available at the right time. Proponents spoke to the operators, and it was soon in their hands, with volunteers getting the space ready.

Bartsch is anticipating a soft opening for Sept. 15, with a grand opening to happen later.

Unlike previous free and thrift stores, residents cannot simply drop off items.

That proved to be a significant problem for the free stores and the Salvation Army’s thrift store, as many of the donations were not usable and had to be taken up to the landfill.

In this case, Bartsch said those looking to donate will be required to make an appointment, at which time store volunteers will go through the items to ensure they are goods that can be sold.

As Bartsch said, the store will be looking for items that are still in good condition and can be used.

She noted there are a few things the store won’t be taking for liability reasons, such as car seats and bike helmets as well as mattresses. Furniture in good condition will be accepted.

Damaged and broken goods will not be accepted. The group’s Facebook page includes a long list of items that will be accepted along with others that it will not take in.

Clothes will also be accepted, though they need to be in good condition, suitable for wear.

As Bartsch pointed out, the work of the group goes beyond operating a thrift store. It will also provide options on what to do with items the store can’t accept, promoting diversion from the landfill where possible.

She noted there’s been a number of lessons learned in the community from not having a free or thrift store for the past 17 months. Among them is learning that there are places residents can take their used goods.

Used car seats that are past their expiration date, for example, can be taken to the territory’s motor vehicles branch to be shredded.

Raven has large bins available in the free store for used clothing that is shipped Outside, with some being sold in consignment stores and others being turned into rags.

Bartsch noted that while the new thrift store will accept clothing, items that are ripped or in too poor a condition to be sold can continue to be donated at Raven.

She asked that residents be thoughtful about what they bring in as the group works to make the thrift store a success.

“Let’s make this our community thrift store,” she said. “We want to be accessible to everybody.”

While the thrift store is a volunteer-led initiative now, it’s anticipated the store will employ a couple of full-time and part-time staffers in the future.

The group’s Facebook page will provide details on intake appointments and store hours when they are available.