The Free Store (Braddock)

A famous quote from Pittsburgh favorite, Mister Rogers, reminds us that when things are bad we should “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Numerous factors, primarily the collaspe of the steel industry, led to extreme financial hardship in Braddock. Fortunately, behind some brightly colored structures on Braddock’s main road, it’s not too difficult to find helpers. The brightly colored structures are three shipping containers that have been repurposed and  artistically painted, including a mural by Kaff-eine, a contemporary and street artist that has painted murals across the world.

Two containers make up what is called the Free Store, and the other container is the Red Lantern Bike Shop. The bike shop collects, stores, fixes, and then gives away bicycles to children. It also teaches the basics of bike repair. The Free Store is a non-profit that aims to help those who are in need and strengthen the community. It does this by collecting goods and then giving them away to anyone who is need of them, for the small price of a hug. Along with its unusual currency, the store has only three rules:

1. Be kind
2. Take only what you need.
3. Pay it forward.

The store mainly collects toys, clothing, and some food. They accept donations from the general public but have also partnered with several retail stores. The retail stores provide the Free Store with unused surplus goods that they haven’t been able to sell. Regularly, these goods would have been thrown away, but are now saved and put to use by the Free Store.

The Free Store strives to welcome anyone who comes to the store. Along with its upbeat colors, there are a plethora of positive signs on and around the structures. Some of the signs are there simply to be encouraging such as the “Donut worry, Be Happy” painting that hangs above the door or the large printed sign hanging on the porch that states “wherever you came from, however you got here, we are SO glad to see you.” The signs that are meant to be instructional are also steeped with kindness, for example the sign that states that donations must fit into a specific bin asks you to “please use bin, pretty please? Cherry on top?”

A quick visit to the Free Store is a powerful reminder that there are genuinely good people in the world.