For affordable, recycled clothing, gift items, housewares and furniture. Your purchase benefits Nantucket Cottage Hospital.

The Hospital Thrift Shop is open from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. Please call for more information.

Volunteers Making A Difference:
Hospital Thrift Shop Benefits Hospital since 1929

In 1929, a small group of dedicated women volunteers established the Thrifty Shop, selling affordable, recycled clothing and household items to benefit the Nantucket Cottage Hospital. In that first year, the Thrifty Shop proudly raised $603 for the Hospital. In 2008, with the help of over 100 volunteers, the Hospital Thrift Shop’s donation was $100,000—all of which went toward the Digital Mammography and Bone Density Suite.

The Thrifty Shop was originally housed in a number of rented quarters throughout the Town of Nantucket. Then in 1945 the business became incorporated as the Thrift Shop under the laws of the Commonwealth and elected a Board of nine members. Shortly after, the Thrift Shop purchased the Ayres house at 17 India Street for $7,500, securing a $3,000 mortgage from Nantucket Institute for Savings. In 1946, the Town granted the Thrift Shop its tax-free status as a charitable organization.

Over the years, the Thrift Shop has grown into a thriving business and remains a significant source of income for the Hospital. It has contributed many items through the years, including the purchase of equipment in the Emergency Room, Operating Rooms, Oncology Department and Nurse’s Station. Purchases made since 1929 include an ambulance, an electrocardiograph machine, bassinets and more recently, an MRI, the Voorhees Nursery, as well as significant contributions towards the Hospital’s expanded staff housing.

The only paid employees for the Thrift Shop, a seasonal business, are the manager and the bookkeeper, and those positions were created relatively recently. All others involved are volunteers. An independent charitable organization, the Hospital Thrift Shop’s ongoing support is essential to Nantucket Cottage Hospital.