For more than two decades, Vicky’s Values Thrift Boutique has served the City of Kawartha Lakes as, in its own words, the area’s best second hand store, an unusually direct claim of longevity for a small town charity resale shop, and one that speaks to how deeply the boutique has become woven into the local secondhand shopping habits of the community. The store sells quality used clothing and household goods at prices meant to keep everyday essentials affordable, drawing shoppers who want to stretch a budget as much as those simply looking for a well priced find. Every dollar spent at the boutique flows back into Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes, the charitable organization behind the store, which has spent more than thirty years working with the community to provide safety and support services to abused women and their children and to help end violence against women in the region.
That fundraising relationship is the boutique’s defining story: rather than existing as a standalone retail business, Vicky’s Values operates as a direct extension of a frontline social service agency, meaning every purchase, from a stack of gently used clothing to a box of household items, contributes measurably to secure facilities and community support programs for women in the region. The shop keeps regular hours Monday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm, giving shoppers a full six day window to browse. Donations are welcomed as well, though the boutique asks that drop offs be arranged in advance rather than left unannounced, with donated items brought in through a side door off the parking lot and held for 24 to 48 hours before being sorted onto the sales floor, a small operational detail that reflects the careful, organized way the store manages its inventory flow. Both cash and debit payments are accepted at checkout.
Kawartha Lakes is a large, mostly rural municipality in central Ontario formed from the amalgamation of several smaller communities, and a shop like Vicky’s Values fills an important role in that kind of spread out region: an accessible, affordable source of clothing and household basics for residents who might otherwise have fewer nearby retail options, while simultaneously funding services that many of those same residents, or their neighbours, may one day need. The boutique’s connection to Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes also means staff and volunteers bring a mission driven approach to the sales floor that goes beyond typical retail, treating each transaction as part of a larger community safety net rather than a purely commercial exchange.
Anyone interested in shopping, donating, or learning more about how the store supports Women’s Resources of Kawartha Lakes can visit during posted hours or contact the organization’s main office directly for current details on donation appointments and store location. The careful, appointment based donation process also helps the small charity manage volunteer capacity while still keeping the sales floor stocked with fresh, quality items week after week.
Vicky’s Values Thrift Boutique is a Kawartha Lakes secondhand shop whose two decades of affordable clothing and household goods sales exist for one purpose, funding safety and support services for abused women and children in the community.
