New thrift store Wildbird Treasure Nest opens in downtown Blaine

An inside look at Wildbird Treasure Nest: Thrift & Gift. Photo by Mathew Roland.

By Mathew Roland

There’s a new place to shop in downtown Blaine.

Wildbird Treasure Nest: Thrift & Gift, located at 442 Peace Portal Drive, will celebrate its grand opening all weekend, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Friday, August 31 and running until Sunday, September 2. During the event, staff will serve free hotdogs and cold beverages. Regular store hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   on Sunday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday.

Clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, home décor, small toys, linen sets, throw pillows and blankets are sold and accepted for donation at Wildbird Treasure Nest. Donations of appliances, pots and pans, or miscellaneous plates are not accepted.

Deanna Mulder is the owner of nonprofit Wildbird Treasure Nest and her husband Mike Mulder owns the building. Donations are currently being accepted for men, woman and children.

Andrea Skorka is the store manager of Wildbird Treasure Nest. “We want to be an asset for the community and be able to take the money that is brought in for a good cause and use it to help people who don’t have anything,” Skorka said.

“We are more like a boutique than a thrift store. A lot of our prices are thrift store level because were trying to keep it affordable for people in the community.”

Roughly 80 percent of the proceeds from the Wildbird Treasure Nest will be directed to the Wildbird Charity which includes various forms of homeless outreach, veteran outreach and a backpack program, which packs backpacks full of nutritious food for children who aren’t getting enough to eat at home on the weekends.

Mike started Wildbird Charity two years ago with friends from Trinity Western University in British Columbia, where he went to school.

“We decided to do something fun but help people at the same time so we formed a charity to help the poor and the homeless,” he said.

The backpack program is currently helping kids in Kendall, Washington, Mount Baker School District. Kendall was selected after a volunteer’s daughter who works as a nurse in the district saw the desperate need for the program. Deanna hopes the Wildbird Treasure Nest will help them expand to the schools in Blaine. The cost of food for the backpack program is $450 per child and supplies the child for 52 weekends.

The Wildbird Treasure Nest is also funding homeless outreach throughout Whatcom County, lead by Skorka, such as dispersing meals, clothes and hygiene bags to those experiencing homelessness. The bags come with athlete’s foot cream, Band-Aids, socks, shaving cream, razors and deodorant. They cost about $15 to assemble per person and last one month.

“Every time we fill a storefront it’s an important step forward. I’m glad Wildbird is planning for a new location when the current site is redeveloped,” said Michael Jones, interim city manager in a press release.

To donate to Wildbird Charity call Skorka at 360/441-4545 or visit wildbirdcharity.com for more information.