Our Story

Shannon was born and raised in Florida.  She relocated to Tennessee in 2004 with her husband Nick and two daughters Kaylen and Rylee. 

Shannon has always had a heart for serving others and her community. She was heavily involved in her girl’s school as PTF president, coaching both of her daughter’s volleyball teams, and team managing her daughters club soccer teams. As her girls grew up, she started listening for what God had planned for her and the next steps in her life. This is when God placed Gina in her path.  They were in a bible study together and from there she was asked to be interim assistant manager for Gina at Common Threads.  During their time together seeds started to be planted.  This is when Thrift Love was placed on Gina and Shannon’s hearts. Although, she does not have a child with special needs or a disability she has been a part of several organizations to support families. Stone Soup was one of the ways she volunteered to help. This allowed parents to drop off all their children with and without special needs so they could have a night out.  She was also part of a church called Hope at the Refuge. This let families come worship all together in service and not feel as though they needed to take their children or young adults with special needs out of service. 

Shannon now has a sophomore in college and senior in high school. The timing is perfect. Shannon is excited to see what God has in store for the future of Thrift Love!

Aside from being a dedicated mother of two boys, Gina is an advocate for individuals with special needs. Since the birth of her oldest son, Braden, who was born with Down syndrome, she has had a continued passion for improving the life of this growing population.    

She grew and chaired the Memphis area Buddy Walk from its infancy in 1998 to the largely anticipated community event that is today until 2004. She received Volunteer Memphis, Volunteer of the Year Award 2001 for this work.  

While working for STEP, Inc. 2005-2008, she spent countless hours training parents on their rights and supporting them through the IEP process.  Gina chaired the annual Madonna Learning Center annual auction 2006-2009, obtaining and managing over 400 auction items, raising tens of thousands of dollars each year.  

After leaving the Memphis area and relocating to Columbia, TN, she took a break from the special needs focused service and set her sights on the poor in her new community. She volunteered at The Family Center for 3 years, then moved on to operate their newly formed thrift store, Common Threads for the following 4 years as a full-time service position until 2019.  

In early 2020 she was feeling led to take those years of experience and start Thrift Love along with Shannon Stamatis as Cofounder.   

“My son is now 23 years old and will be finishing school this year.  The timing is perfect for our family to take on this endeavor.  Braden is looking forward to having a place volunteering at the store”.