B-COS We Care is not a typical retail operation dressed up as a charity: it is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization based in Colorado Springs that runs the Bargain Box Thrift Store at 405 South Nevada Avenue specifically to fund its community programs, according to the organization’s own website. The group describes its mission as improving the well-being of children and families throughout Colorado Springs and El Paso County, and the thrift store exists as one of the main ways that mission gets funded, with every sale on the floor supporting initiatives rather than a private owner’s bottom line.
The Bargain Box keeps a tighter schedule than many secondhand stores, open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 2pm, a window that reflects its all-volunteer staffing model. Shoppers browsing the store will find the usual mix of donated clothing, housewares, furniture, and general secondhand goods that make thrift shopping worthwhile for bargain hunters, but the organization behind the register is doing considerably more than moving merchandise. According to its own materials, B-COS We Care has been serving the Colorado Springs community for more than 55 years, a run that has allowed it to build out a portfolio of named programs addressing specific local needs.
Those programs include Angel Babies, Beyond the Classroom, Sweet Dreams, Clothes for Courage, and a Homeless Veterans Stand Down initiative, each targeting a different gap the organization has identified in the community, from supporting infants and families in crisis to helping veterans and students access basic necessities. Proceeds from Bargain Box sales help keep those programs running, which means a simple thrift store purchase on South Nevada Avenue also functions as a small, direct contribution to local social services. The organization has also pursued newer partnerships, including a Conscious Capitalism collaboration announced for 2025, aimed at expanding its community impact beyond the thrift store’s four walls.
For donors, the model works in both directions: clothing, furniture, and household items given to Bargain Box get a second life on the sales floor while simultaneously generating funds for programs that serve some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, including homeless veterans and families facing housing or childcare instability. That dual purpose, thrift retail on one side and direct social service funding on the other, is what distinguishes an operation like B-COS We Care from a standard secondhand shop, even though the shopping experience itself, racks of clothing, shelves of housewares, and rotating furniture, looks much the same as any other thrift store.
Anyone wanting to donate, volunteer, or simply shop can reach the organization by phone at 719-475-1029, or connect through its Facebook and Instagram accounts for updates on current needs and store hours. Because the Bargain Box operates on volunteer labor and community donations, its inventory and offerings shift according to what the community gives, making each visit a little different from the last.
In short, B-COS We Care’s Bargain Box Thrift Store at 405 South Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs is a volunteer-run secondhand shop whose sales directly fund more than five decades of local programs for children, families, and veterans in El Paso County.
