A little store that could

City Centre

West End

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/04/2025 (360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Nancy Johnson and four other nurses founded the Just Like New to You thrift store in 2005, she said they “didn’t really know what the heck we were doing.”

As health-care professionals, she said, they didn’t know much about the retail business, or even how to operate a cash register. Twenty years later, at 87 years old, she continues to volunteer at the store every Wednesday — in her own spot, a chair in the back room where she sorts through donated items. Johnson is usually accompanied by her daughters, who were indoctrinated into volunteering at a young age.

Just Like New to You, located at 635 Portage Ave., is entirely volunteer-operated, just as it was when it was founded. Every sale supports the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and, much like the items sold, everything from the sign out front to the lease have been donated by the surrounding community.

So far, the store has been able to donate over $600,000 to the HSC Foundation since it began.

Just Like New to You’s upcoming 20th anniversary celebration — to be held May 6 to 9 — is for the store as much as it is for the volunteers, visitors, and nearby businesses who have kept its heart pumping.

Celebrations will include daily pop-up sales (“toonie sales,” because its the 20th anniversary) and a ‘spin to win’ wheel with every $5 purchase

“I’m thrilled it’s lasted this long,” Johnson said.

“I think what I’m really proud of is the fact that we provide important things the government can’t fund,” said Sue Lockhart, one of Johnson’s daughters who is now president of the thrift store’s board of directors. “For example, pet therapy, music therapy, and things that are really going to impact the patients.”

Proceeds also support the purchase of new equipment, support for capital projects, and more.

“It’s heartwarming to be part of something like that, and provide services that could easily be cut in the budget,” Lockhart said.

The store has helped support the foundation in different ways, as well, such as donating baby clothes to new mothers who may not be able to afford them.

“Those things warm my heart,” Lockhart said.

Many people can relate to the sentiment of having a loved one in hospital or receiving care themselves, which has created a natural ecosystem of support, Lockhart said. Connecting with a manager of Giant Tiger on Facebook, for example, has resulted in huge donations of items such as socks and winter coats that would otherwise wind up in a landfill, which Just Like New to You works hard to avoid. Rags are donated to a nearby autobody shop, overflow clothes go to shelters, blankets go to the Humane Society, and more.

“We like to keep our prices low,” Lockhart said, adding that the prices of many things at the store haven’t been raised since 2005. “We’re supporting a community and we want to make sure things re-live and are re-loved.”

She said that the community the team supports has always supported Just Like New to You. Regulars are so familiar that there’s worry when someone doesn’t show up for a while.

“We want to promote this as a destination,” Lockhart said, for everyone in the area and beyond.

Just Like New To You is always looking for new volunteers to join its team. The store accepts clothing, toys, books, CDs, textiles and more, but refrains from large furniture donations, owing to a lack of space.

Monetary donations are also accepted during regular hours (Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

To learn more, visit Just Like New to You’s Facebook page.