Recycling
In Alaska

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(Locator:  Nome, Alaska)

Girl: “Look at this, Mom…”

Everyone loves a bargain. This little store run by the United Methodist Church in Nome, Alaska has plenty of those.

Idele Aningayou (ANN-NIG-GEE-YOU) flies 40 minutes from her home in a neighboring village four times a year.

Idele Aningayou/Customer: “We do our school clothes, work clothes, household stuff because we have no department store on the island of Gamble, Alaska.”

Piles of used clothing are a welcome sight. Many here live in remote areas - some accessible only by airplane. Most native Alaskans have few opportunities to buy necessities, and money doesn’t go far.

Nancy Mendenhall/ Nome Community United Methodist Church: “A gallon of milk here is probably eight dollars…something like that. The price of gas here is around three dollars.”

Families on a budget can dress everyone for a few dollars. A grocery bag full of clothes sells for just two bucks. Coats a dollar more. Toys and books are free.

Most of the items are donated by people leaving Nome because of the high cost of moving household items by airplane. You know what they say about one man’s trash.

Nikki Polk/College Student: “It’s kind of like a recycle station for things in Nome because there are so many people that move here and leave here.”

The United Methodist thrift shop is run completely by church volunteers.

The Rev. Lucy Barton /Pastor, Nome Community United Methodist Church: “We can be having a blizzard and we’ll still have a crowd in here”

And when there is a blizzard, a three-dollar coat can be a perfect fit.

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With only about three hours of daylight during the winter, depression and all that comes with it can take its toll on the population. The church considers the thrift shop a means of bringing comfort to the community.

For more information log onto: http://www.alaskaumc.com or call 907-443-2865.