John Volken Academy Thrift UT — Local services in Farmington

It was a Friday morning. I drove by and felt a tug in my heart that I needed to come back to Red Barn Thrift.

A couple hours later, I was back. Going in, I planned on 5 minutes. Two hours later, I left with a car full of treasures and more than that, a heart full of love for 5 men who’s stories I heard as they provided amazing service and told me all about Red Barn.

You see, I run The Consecrated Life Project, I share stories of faith, hope, and transformation. I am committed to helping others live happy, healthy, joyful lives. When I find great people doing great things, I want to tell everyone and help them succeed.

Red Barn Thrift is wonderful. The staff is the most dedicated, joyful, engaged group of men I have ever seen at a thrift store.

Neil confidently greeted me and told me about the program. He answered lots of questions and gave me so many resources. He volunteered to take my glassware and wrap it while I shopped. He was serious! It was wrapped so well, I’m sure it could have survived an international move and being thrown around by the package delivery people for a week and still been in pristine condition.

I purchased a statue of a man holding a pack that looked like it came from chile or somewhere in South America. I chose him because it reminded me of the mission of this organization. It reminds me of the strength of these men who came from some hard circumstances and have decided to transform their burdens into blessings and carry on to become upstanding citizens and to do the hard work to change their lives around.

I see the light in their eyes and the confidence and courage in how they carry themselves.

The photos on Google show you a thrift store…. What they cannot convey is the heart behind this place.

I invite you to come and see. Don’t just shop. Have your eyes and heart open. Ask questions, hear their stories. Believe in humanity.

Leandrew joyfully ran checkout for me … 4 times I think… and got me signed up for the Loyalty program. He helped me fix a small issue with my van and told me how well he is doing in the program and the excitement he had for his first call with his kids this weekend. (I hope it was wonderful!)

Kyle and Aaron also helped put things in my car. They checked bags to make sure all the zippers worked and took such care with everything they did. They also shared their stories of hard choices, treatment, and the transformation they have experienced at Red Barn Academy.

The store is clean. The staff is fabulous. The intention and care is evident. They are my new favorite! I’m excited to be back and bring my donations too.

Come and experience Red Barn Thrift. It’s not what you have experienced before.

**TO THE STAFF: I love you. God loves you. I am proud of you. Keep going. Keep growing. Life is only better from here — if you...

James and Kyle were AMAZINGLY AWESOME!! So friendly, AND they arrived on time! Who does that?? They were 'moving magicians"/ "MASTER MOVERS" in navigating our difficult hallway. I had done my best to get there ahead of them and move things around and they thanked me for doing it but said they would have been happy to take care of that. I was SO impressed with the way Kyle told his story before they left. It touched my heart and made me commit to myself that I will do what I can to help out. First and foremost will be two dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme to replace all the calories they lose every day. Also, I plan on eating LOTS of chicken from now on! They even gave me two $5 coupons for the next time I eat there. I think I know what's for dinner tonight!! One of my work colleagues used Red Barn for a major move from their rented home to the new home they were able to buy. She commented to me that they have moved MANY times and Red Barn was BY FAR the BEST experience they've had! Back to James and Kyle. After they relieved me of the nasty old furniture, they expertly navigated the hallway again to bring in the new items. They then insisted on moving everything back in place which was much appreciated. I tried to say that I could take care of it later, and they said "we're here now so we want to help you put everything back in place so you don't have to worry about it." I work at AAA which is close to their thrift store and I see their other "brothers" working hard to move things in and out of the store. It's come a long way since it's inception but cars now fill the parking lot every day. Lastly, an observation about James. Once he graduates from the program he won't have ANY trouble attracting potential lady friends. He is one HANDSOME DUDE! Those blue eyes will melt the heart of ANY woman. Go Razorbacks!! P.S. Kyle, us OLD guys just have to mingle at the bingo parlors to find a date! Or, hang with Kyle and maybe there will be an older sister or a...

I was in the process of emptying out a storage unit that I had, and couldn't figure out what to do with my sofa, mattress, and box spring, which were still in good condition, but most places still wouldn't accept them. Red Barn was recommended to me by an employee at the storage unit, and I gave them a call. After having me send pictures to make sure that all of the items were in good condition, Neil, Kyle, and Michael showed up to take them as a donation, and didn't even charge me for the pickup! They were incredibly friendly, and in almost no time, they had my things shrink-wrapped and loaded into their truck. They also took the time to tell me about Red Barn, the program they run, and their own personal stories of they life they'd been living, and how Red Barn is helping them turn their lives around. As they were leaving, they all shook my hand, and thanked me for the opportunity to work and get their lives back on track. I was absolutely blown away! I didn't tell them this at the time, but hearing their stories and seeing what they were doing almost left me in tears. The whole time, I was so grateful for how much they were helping me, but all they would talk about was how much I was helping them. I cannot say enough about how eager I would be to call them again. They made me want to tell others about them, and I already have! I will continue to recommend Red Barn to anyone who lives in and around Farmington. Five stars really isn't a high enough score, but it's the highest one that Google will...