New thrift shop opens this week at More Than Words

On Friday, Oct. 9, Boomerangs by More Than Words will open at 56 Felton St. The 2000 square-foot store will offer clothes and footwear for adults and children, home goods, furniture and other items. 

The nonprofit organization More Than Words has revamped operations at its Waltham site to create the brightly painted and high-ceilinged thrift shop. The neatly organized merchandise consists of new or gently used donations from individuals and overstock from companies. 

Combining a thrift shop with youth employment

For the past 20 years, More Than Words has run an online book service, along with a small retail outlet, as part of its job training program for system-involved youths ages 16 through 24. Participants at the organization’s Waltham and Boston locations include young people from the foster care, public mental health or court systems, those experiencing homelessness, and those who had not finished school or had become young parents. But the jobs at the service lacked much public interaction, with the participants working mostly in the back office. 

In 2024, the long-standing Boomerangs thrift chain operated by Fenway Health closed, but Fenway Health wished to carry forward its social goals and turned to More Than Words.

“Both organizations saw an opportunity to preserve a beloved community institution while continuing its tradition of creating social impact,” said Erin Dyson-Enamorado, director of new business and marketing. 

With More Than Words stewarding the old Boomerangs store in Cambridge, staff began to reimagine how its Waltham location could take advantage of the thrifting boom and the work possibilities offered by retailing. 

Funding for the extensive renovations came from three entities — the Yawkey Foundation, Fish Family Foundation and state funding secured by the Waltham legislative delegation of Sen. Mike Barrett and Reps. Tom Stanley and John Lawn via the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The grants also expanded the youth training program by adding 12 more positions in Waltham.

Waltham site manager Shiricka Brown said that the planning was extensive. “It was a labor of love for some time.” 

Behind the scenes

A few days before the opening, young people bustled about, some fulfilling book orders and others working on displays of clothes and home goods. Watching the activity, Brown said, “It was a really small storefront. To have this space and be fully operational — it’s just really exciting.”

“We’ve more than tripled the space for retail,” said Dyson-Enamorado. 

The online ordering business continues, with sections upstairs and flanking the ground-floor thrift store. 

The training program as social enterprise

Currently, 19 youths are participating in the program in Waltham. They have two jobs — a paid “business” job and a “You” job focusing on getting their lives together. Beyond teaching job skills and soft social skills to participants, the program’s wrap-around services include one-on-one counseling with youth development managers, a clear pathway to improvement and eventual program graduation, and monthly visits and workshops by hiring organizations. 

Assistance might involve figuring out transportation to the store, funds to fix a bike, rental assistance, court support and encouragement to pass the High School Equivalency Test. Support from More Than Words continues even after graduation from the program, as the young adults transition to work and greater independence. 

Seeing the personal and professional growth in program participants is satisfying for Brown, who heads both the operational and the youth development sides. “By the time they graduate, they’re leaving with those soft skills and that development, where they can go and get other jobs and be on a pathway toward a living wage,” she said.

Part of that success has been due to the Waltham location, which Brown praised for its strong community ties. “With this expansion, we will be able to offer the community more goods and products at reasonable cost, which also helps to expand our services for young adults,” Brown noted. “We are looking forward to having the community see this side of More Than Words.”

People who wish to donate goods can drop them off at the retail building in Waltham during store hours or in bins in the parking lot or throughout the metropolitan area. The organization’s website provides detailed information. Pick-up of large donations of at least eight boxes or bags can be scheduled on the website.