WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Shopping at the Cover Home Repair and Store is a bit like going on a treasure hunt.
It may take some time, but those who are patient and poke around will likely find a treasure — be it furniture, a tool or appliance — they have been looking for at a low price.
Such a purchase has the added benefit of bolstering Cover’s mission by keeping items out of the landfill. Proceeds from the sale go toward Cover’s home repair projects.
The White River Junction-based nonprofit’s core philosophy is “reuse, reuse, reuse,” said Jamie Loura, Cover’s store manager, explaining as she walked around the store how the items are organized.
Repair, refurbish and reuse is a model referred to as the “circular economy.” Thousands of items, from clothing to household items, furniture, building materials, recreational equipment and more, are resold to minimize waste by keeping materials and products in circulation for as long as possible.
“In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling and composting,” the website Ellen MacArthur Foundation states in an overview of the circular economy.
The nonprofit BALE (Building a Local Economy) also focuses on reuse as well as building community connections with its “Free Store” at the South Royalton farmer’s market on the green every other Sunday from 10 to 1 p.m, until Sept. 7.
Aleda Bliss, the Free Store manager, said it is a “gift economy” focusing on clothing and housewares.
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“People are welcome to come through and take and leave what they want,” Bliss said. “It is about sustainability and using what we have and not throwing things away. But also about taking care of our neighbors.”
As Loura spoke at Cover, a shopper asked if she had a tape for the VCR machine he was holding to be sure it works. He later returned, pleased that it played the tape and paid $10 for the player.
“When you shop at Cover, you purchase something for yourself or a gift for somebody, the money goes into home repair and somebody gets a roof, maybe a ramp or weatherization,” Loura said.
Fostering hope, building community, keeping stuff out of landfills, helping low-income residents with home repairs and providing an affordable option for building materials are Cover’s goals, said Helen Hong, the nonprofit’s executive director the past four years.
Cover, which stands for Corps of Volunteers Effecting Repair and Reuse, completes up to 80 urgent repairs each year on Upper Valley homes through its Home Repair Program at an average cost of $5,000. While Cover usually pays 100% of the cost, it may invite the homeowner to pay for some of the materials, but only if they feel they can afford it, Hong said. The average contribution from the homeowner is $150, though some could pay more while others pay nothing.
“This is invitation only and does not affect our acceptance of a project,” she said.
The average homeowner’s monthly income is $2,000 and with payments for necessities, including food, transportation, property taxes and health care cost, they do not have savings to pay for home repairs, Hong said.
This spring, thanks to a recent grant award, Cover expanded its efforts to include full house repairs. The $120,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation of Buffalo, N.Y., will be used to undertake four full house repairs at an average cost of $25,000 this year and four more next year, Hong said in a news release. The first whole house repair began in May in Thetford and was expected to be completed in late June.
Similar to the repair program, homeowners may offer to pay a very small amount of overall cost for materials and labor but are not required to, Hong said.
“We still will proceed with a whole house repair regardless of the amount,” she added.
The Thetford home has a target cost for materials and labor of $25,000 plus between $10,000 and $15,000 for Cover staff crew trained in construction to lead a crew of volunteers, Hong said.
The planned repairs for the home include mold remediation by a certified contractor, new siding, a new metal roof, insulation and Sheetrock for basement walls, new basement exterior door and stairway door, new egress stairs in back and basement stair railing.
The Cover store accepts furniture, tools, a variety of household items, appliances, CDs, holiday decorations and building materials, including doors, windows and paints.
Donors fit into three profiles, Hong and Loura said. Some will come once a year after a fall or spring cleanup. One-time donors bring in items because they are downsizing or moving, and businesses donate discontinued items or floor models.
On the other end, buyers can include those simply looking for that “random treasure” and not something specific. Landlords, homeowners and resellers also shop at Cover, some coming from a distance, Loura said.
“We are sort of like a little destination,” Loura said.
Cover sold more than 40,000 items and 2,000 books, which realized nearly 40% of its more than $1 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, according to its latest annual report.
Used books are sold in a small space with a separate entrance. With more than 20 volunteers, the store shelves are neatly arranged by subject.
Book donors include people who are moving, downsizing or no longer have a use for their children’s books, Nancy Cressman, one of the store’s volunteers, said.
“We feel this collection reflects the Upper Valley,” Cressman said. “This is what the Upper Valley reads, then it is here, then goes back to others.”
Searching around Cover, Nissa Cullen, of Lyme, spotted an antique matchstick holder that caught her interest, though she was not sure how she would use it. Perhaps she would resell it in her White River Junction store, The Collection, as she has with other items she has bought.
Cullen stops at Cover often.
“I love it here,” Cullen said, with the matchstick holder in hand. “You never know what you will find. Sometimes I find nothing; other times I come in and fill up my car.”
Cover shopper Helen Esmond, of Hartland, stops by frequently “because things they have are constantly changing,” she said while shopping one afternoon last month.
“I bought a really nice leather swivel chair someone had just brought in that day and wanted to get rid of it,” she said. “I paid $20, and it is really an expensive chair.”
But good buys are not the only reason Esmond shops at Cover.
“They do very good work, so that is why I stop in and check through stuff,” she said.
Cover is located at 158 South Main St. in White River Junction. Those interested in volunteering for the home repair program or in the stores can learn more at coverhomerepair.org.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at [email protected].