Full Circle Thrift presented a $20,000 check to Culpeper County on June 3 to support the Recreation Scholarship Program and a Youth Sports Financial Aid program that help residents pay for Parks and Recreation programs and youth sports covered by county memorandums of understanding.

County staff said the Recreation Scholarship is open to town and county residents of all ages and uses federal SNAP household-income criteria to determine eligibility; applicants who cannot produce documentation may submit a letter for review by a three-person committee on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. The youth sports aid covers athletic programs with an active MOU, including CFA Football, Culpeper Little League, Culpeper Soccer Club, rugby and wrestling, and covers fall and spring seasons with awards applied on the county fiscal year (July 1–June 30).

Andrew Hardy, who introduced the presentation to the board, said Full Circle Thrift asked for data covering Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2024. He told the board that in that period the county distributed $26,595 to 197 participants (including $13,335 to 102 youth-sports participants in fall 2024 and $7,905 to 42 participants for the recreation scholarship). Hardy said adding awards through September and other donations raised the total impact in an 18-month window to more than $46,000 and assistance for about 359 individuals.

David (Dave) Martin, manager of Full Circle Thrift, said the thrift store has donated more than $1 million to the community since 2003 and presented the $20,000 check to the board. County staff credited other private donors and community supporters as well.

The board thanked Full Circle Thrift and county staff for administering the scholarship and financial-aid programs; the board did not take formal action beyond accepting the presentation.

Hardy and Martin said the county tracks program enrollment and facility usage; Hardy cited a rise in Parks and Recreation enrollments from 3,569 in 2021–22 to 6,195 in 2023–24 and said the Culpeper Field House has had more than 100,000 visits since opening in late 2022.