Sandpoint Nonprofit Store Tops $2.5 Million in Community Giving Over 20 Years
A volunteer-run resale shop in Sandpoint has quietly become one of North Idaho’s most productive community fundraisers, crossing the $2.5 million mark in charitable giving over its 20-year history.
Bizarre Bazaar, operated by the Community Assistance League (CAL), functions as an “upscale resale” store stocked entirely with donated goods and staffed entirely by volunteers. Items that don’t sell are passed along to other thrift organizations rather than discarded. The store sells gently used clothing, linens, household goods, used books, and crafts — with prices kept deliberately accessible. A pair of jeans runs $5.
“The store is like walking into a boutique,” said Sherry Fulton, who has been connected to the operation since it first opened. She described an inventory that includes some genuinely impressive donated pieces alongside everyday finds.
Two Decades of Scholarships and Grants
CAL itself has operated in the Sandpoint area for 46 years, but Bizarre Bazaar became its primary fundraising engine when the store opened two decades ago. Proceeds from sales are directed toward educational scholarships and grants for local nonprofit organizations throughout the region.
This year alone, CAL expects to distribute more than $225,000 to area students and community programs, according to board president Joyce Price. Looking back across the full 20-year run of the store, the cumulative total surpasses $2.5 million — a figure that reflects the sustained effort of hundreds of volunteers and thousands of donors who dropped off goods year after year.
A decade ago, CAL took steps to ensure that legacy would continue well beyond the store’s current volunteers. The organization established an endowment fund through the Idaho Community Foundation, a structure designed to sustain scholarship and grant programs for future generations regardless of what happens to the retail operation itself.
Impact Across the Community
The list of organizations that have benefited from CAL’s generosity reads like a cross-section of Sandpoint’s social infrastructure.
Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. (SASi) has received more than $60,000 from CAL over the past five years, according to board president Lindsey Hughes. That funding has supported nutrition programs, facility improvements including a heating and cooling system, and holiday gift bags for homebound seniors. “The community impact is immeasurable,” Hughes said.
The Pend Oreille Arts Council has partnered with CAL since 1992. Executive director Tone Stolz credits the organization’s support for keeping the Kaleidoscope Visual Arts Program alive — a program that brings art instruction into every elementary school in Bonner County. “Without this program, there would be no art classes in any of the elementary schools,” Stolz said.
At the Bonner Community Food Bank, CAL funding helped pay for a walk-in cooler and equipment for weighing donated food. Executive director Debbie Love described CAL as an organization “you can call upon in times of need and trust that they will be there.”
The Unique Center for Athletes of Needs (UCAN) has also received thousands of dollars in support over the years, funding used for equipment and instructor compensation. Executive director and head coach Mariah Decker said the dollars have a direct daily impact on athletes served by the program, and she described CAL’s volunteers as emblematic of how committed local citizens can drive meaningful change in a community.
Community giving of this kind mirrors the values seen in other local organizations across the region. The Lewiston Public Library’s annual book sale is another example of how community-supported efforts generate ongoing funding for public programming throughout Nez Perce County.
What Comes Next
CAL and Bizarre Bazaar have signaled their intention to keep the store running well into the future. With the Idaho Community Foundation endowment in place, the charitable work of the organization is designed to outlast any individual volunteer class or economic cycle. For a region that prizes self-reliance and community-driven solutions over government dependence, Bizarre Bazaar stands as a model of what neighbors doing business together — quite literally — can accomplish over time.
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