Regular store hours will be every Sunday, 12:30 to 4pm. The Underground Thrift Store is a project of the congregation of Plymouth Church. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to organizations fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Founded in 1847, Plymouth Church’s first minister was well-known abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, brother of the anti-slavery novelist Harriet Beecher S
towe, best known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Under Beecher's influence, Plymouth Church held deep philosophical connections with the Underground Railroad—the secretive network of people who helped slaves escape to the North and Canada. Documentary evidence lends support to the belief that Plymouth was also a site of active participation, known as Brooklyn’s “Grand Central Depot.”
While slavery is no longer a government-sanctioned institution in the United States, it is a vicious social ill still among us—even here in the America. The congregation at Plymouth Church will reconnect with its historic anti-slavery mission by donating 25% of the store’s net profits to organizations fighting modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Plymouth Church has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark, one of the first sites in New York City to be so honored. The congregation sponsored Abraham Lincoln’s historic speech at The Cooper Union — originally scheduled for the sanctuary of the church — which launched Lincoln’s presidential campaign. In 1963, Martin Luther King preached a sermon on “The American Dream” at Plymouth, echoed just months later in his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington. An historic tour of the church is offered Sundays at 12:30PM, and includes a discussion of Plymouth Church’s role in the abolition movement. The Underground is accepting donations of good quality clothing for men, women, and children, accessories including fashion jewelry, like-new children's books, and select decorative objects and glassware for the home. Items may be delivered to the collection area in the lobby of 75 Hicks Street (regular hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Saturday, 9am-noon and Sunday, 9am-1pm) and are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law. Please pick up a signed acknowledgment form from the receptionist when you make a drop-off.