​246-A Center Ave, Aptos, CA 95003
Shop Telephone: 831-708-4238
​Shop Hours:  12-4 p.m.

How You Can Help:
  • To volunteer time working in the shop, please contact one of our co-managers; Catherine Ingram [email protected]​ ​ or Loris Gielczyk at [email protected].
  • To donate items, please drop them off at the shop during open hours. Please do NOT leave items outside the shop when we are closed.
About the Helpful Shop

St. John's Helpful Shop was begun in 1953 by the women of the church to raise money for a new church carpet.  As the church grew and no longer needed the income from the shop, it became a vital part of St. John’s outreach program. All net proceeds are given back to the community in the form of grants to local non-profits. 

​Faithful volunteers from the church and the community receive and resell “clean, gently used items,” in good condition, donated by parishioners and community members.  Volunteers are enthusiastic about the benefits they receive from their time at the shop.  Besides providing quality clothing and small household items at an affordable price, the volunteers provide smiles and listening ears for the many who drop in to visit and “pass the time of day.” ​​​
2025 Helpful Shop Grant Protocols
Link to application. Please Note
  1. All information must be complete.
  2. Grants are distributed to local (Santa Cruz County) non-profits.
  3. Grants are not distributed to individuals.
  4. Grant requests must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 - NO EXCEPTIONS.
  5. Grant requests may be emailed to Loris at [email protected] OR Catherine at [email protected] OR mailed to:
Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist
ATTN: Helpful Shop Grants
125 Canterbury Drive
Aptos, CA 95003

​2025 Grants will be distributed at St. John's on Helpful Shop Grants Sunday in Feb., 2025. If awarded a grant you will be invited to attend and meet other grant recipients and volunteers from the shop.
 PictureA neighborhood thrift store in Aptos, just around the corner from St. John's church
2024 Helpful Shop Grant Recipients

In 2023, the Helpful Shop generated  $28,000 in grant funds , distributed among the following local nonprofit organizations at our Helpful Shop Grants Luncheon on Feb. 18, 2024:
​
Association of Faith Communities (AFC)
Building 4 Generations
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Auxiliary
Community Music School of Santa Cruz
Ease PD
For Kids Foundation Monterey Bay
Hospice of Santa Cruz County
Housing Matters
Kairos Prison Ministry
​Live Like Coco Foundation
Meals on Wheels
Next Stage Productions, Inc.
Pajaro Valley Loaves & Fishes
For the Children / Royal Family Kid's Camp
Safe Families
Shared Adventures
Pip's Pantry
Teen Kitchen Project
Valley Churches United
Vets 4 Vets
Volunteer Center's Helping Hands
Women CARE