Union Station Thrift donates $2,600 to Heroes and Helpers
Thrift-store purchases in downtown Bemidji turned into $2,600 for Heroes and Helpers, a youth holiday program backed by local law enforcement and Lions Club volunteers.
A month of shopping at Union Station Thrift translated into $2,600 for Heroes and Helpers, a donation that kept part of Bemidji’s retail dollars working inside the community.
Union Station Thrift set aside 10% of its April sales for the holiday program, continuing a model the downtown shop has used for months: each month, it chooses a local nonprofit and sends over a share of proceeds. The store operates at 128 1st St. W. in a renovated train depot in downtown Bemidji, and nominations for future recipients can be made through its Facebook page.
The April gift lands in a program with a long local track record. Heroes and Helpers, formerly known as Shop with a Cop, marked its 10th year of holiday giving in 2025. The effort is hosted by Bemidji-area law enforcement and the Bemidji Lions Clubs, with the goal of building positive relationships between youth and law enforcement while helping selected children shop for holiday gifts.
That event has grown steadily since it began in 2016, when 20 children took part. By 2025, 44 children participated, with support from the Bemidji Fire Department, Bemidji Police Department, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office and Lions Club volunteers. The program’s growth has made even smaller monthly donations more meaningful, because the money helps sustain a familiar local effort that families in Bemidji recognize year after year.
Union Station Thrift’s monthly contribution model has also become a dependable stream for neighborhood nonprofits. In 2023, the store said it had already been donating 10% of monthly proceeds for almost a year, with average gifts ranging from about $1,500 to $2,000. The April payment to Heroes and Helpers fits that pattern, turning everyday thrift-store purchases into direct support for a program focused on children, community relationships and holiday-season needs.
For Beltrami County, the significance is practical as much as symbolic. The store’s sales do not simply move through the register and out the door. A portion comes back as local help, reinforcing a small but steady circle of giving that keeps money in Bemidji and sends it where residents can see the effect.
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