LOcal non-profit thrift shops
Below will go over ALL the lovely local non-profit thrift shops that help our SMASH ROOM exist and in return we purchase their unwanted glass, ceramic, and wooded items and give them one final good life with y’all instead of going straight to the dump.
It’s a WIN WIN!
when you book a smash session you can know that you helped out all these great programs too!
The SHARE Fund began nearly 30 years ago as an outreach program of a local church. With the help, support, and guidance of the parish, the SHARE Fund grew into a successful assistance service.
In 2008, the SHARE Fund became an independent nonprofit agency, federally registered as a 501c3 public charity.
SHARE Fund continues to grow and has become an integral service provider for people in need living in our community. Today we reach neighbors in need of Food, Clothes, and Financial Assistance from throughout the Greater Rochester Area.
In 1998, as housing costs in the Seacoast rose a small, committed group of local citizens were concerned for their neighbors, family, and friends who were unhoused or were at risk of becoming unhoused. They established Fair Tide as a way to help. They fundraised, advocated, and acted and in 2003 they opened the doors to a newly renovated five-unit home in the Kittery Foreside and the Fair Tide two-year Transitional Housing Program was born. In concert with the home, the Fair Tide Thrift Store came to fruition as a fundraising mechanism for the program, as well as a resource to the residents and the greater Seacoast community.
Article from Portsmouth Herald, 2002 marking the start of construction on the Fair Tide house.
Fair Tide served more than 100 individuals through the Transitional Housing Program providing not only a safe, warm place to call home but also working together with the residents to offer case management, guidance, and support. We moved more than 80% of the residents into long-term housing.
In 2018 in light of economical and political changes, as well as shifts in trends and evidence-based practices in the field of housing, Fair Tide re-evaluated the transitional housing model. We realized that in order to best provide the long-term stability necessary for success we needed to provide permanent housing coupled with ongoing, targeted case management support. That year, we adopted the national best-practice of Housing First and have operated our Housing Programs using that approach since. In 2019 we launched our Landlord Engagement Initiative and began conversations with several social service agencies in the community how best to meet the needs of our neighbors – the result was the vision of Mainspring.
Now, as a co-founder of Mainspring, we are bringing together multiple best-practices to provide a long-term and sustainable solution to addressing poverty. In partnership with Footprints Food pantry, we began construction at 22 Shapleigh Road in late 2023 and have opened our doors in 2025. Fair Tide’s administrative services, housing programs, case management services, and our thrift store will move to the new building once open.
