Who doesn’t love a good deal?  But when you can get a good deal and impact lives at the same time . . . well, so much the better, right?  As you walk through a day in the life of our thrift stores, notice how the simple purchase of a piece of furniture or the donation of a bag of gently used clothing causes one life to touch another and another . . . Everyday interchanges that make the monumental difference between connection and isolation.

8:00 a.m. – Eight employees bow their heads around a table in the upstairs break room. Trevor, who works on the back dock, stands off to the side with a guitar strapped around his neck. Adela, the manager, prays, “Lord, be with us today as we reach out to the people who come into our store. Help us to meet our production goals, but more importantly, let us seek to serve You in all we do.” Trevor leads the group in a worship song and then a short Bible study on the book of Ruth:  “Boaz is an example of a hero – someone who considered others before himself. We can be heroes, too.”

8:30 a.m. – The group disbands into a flurry of activity across the 13,000 square feet of sales floor – sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, straightening racks and setting up the registers.

8:50 a.m. – Just before the store opens, volunteer Jackie Beck, a.k.a. the jewelry lady, arrives. An assortment of sparkly single earrings is pinned to her apron. For just over a year, Jackie has spent one morning a week at the thrift store sorting through boxes of tangled jewelry, looking for special pieces, re-matching sets, and creating attractive displays like one might find in a department store. She searches the internet to learn what might be of value and exchanges damaged gold for cash at a local jeweler. Jackie’s enthusiasm for the work is obvious – she describes it as a “treasure hunt” – but beyond the jewelry, she loves the interaction with employees and customers.

            “Everyone has a story . . . You get hooked.  God tells you to serve – and you do that – but every little bit you do, God gives back so much more.”

9:03 a.m. Wearing a bright yellow stocking cap, Brian, a regular, is one of the first customers through the door.  Everyone greets him by name. He’s looking for dish soap today. Ginger directs him to the right place.  His slurred speech is difficult to understand, but his radiant smile communicates unmistakably – he feels welcome here.

9:25 a.m.  Ryan and Mike show up to do community service and are assigned to help Bal, a refugee from Bhutan, who has been working at the thrift store for a little over a year. Together the men clean and test donated electronics equipment.

10:15 a.m.  In the back, Edith, a white-haired volunteer who has been working at the thrift store since shortly after it opened, sorts donated clothes alongside Erin, a twenty-something woman serving 16 hours of community service for driving without a valid license. Their pile of items deemed “unsuitable for resale” is twice as large as that waiting to be hung, sized, tagged and priced.  Between fifty and eighty percent of the clothes donated are stained, damaged or too worn to be put on the sales floor.  These items are compacted into 800 to 900-pound bales and shipped to third-world countries.

10:45 a.m.  Shannon, who sorts housewares, nears the halfway mark on her production goal – three carts of items sorted, cleaned, priced and ready to move to the sales floor. Her best find of the day so far: a set of black crystal goblets with an intricate leaf design, priced at $4.99.

11:00 a.m. Nick, 15, arrives with an officer from juvenile detention to do community service.  He is assigned to help Terrilynne, a front-end supervisor who is raising her grandchildren. Her own daughter lived on the street for nine years. Nick’s body language says he’d rather be any place else, but Terrilynne’s voice is full of warmth: “Today we’re pulling all the clothing with red tags to be put on clearance.”

11:25 a.m. Regular shopper Lynne pulls her cart full of summer clothes and other finds to the register. “Why do I shop here?” She repeats the question as though it is a bit silly. “I came in here bald one day.  Terrilynne didn’t know me from Adam, but she asked if she could pray for me, and she’s been praying for me ever since.”

11:45 a.m. Standing with her cart next to 12 television sets clearly displaying the movie Secondhand Lions, Dixie conveys a similar sentiment: “They (the staff) are my family. If it wasn’t for the church I go to and coming here, talking to them, I don’t know what I’d do.” 

12:00 noon Spicy chicken wings, an ice cream cake and balloons are set out in the break room to celebrate the graduation of interns Tom and Sarah from the Union Gospel Mission’s recovery programs.

12:15 p.m. Mike and Donna, husband and wife, arrive to help sort, tag, size and move racks of clothing onto the sales floor. Their first concern is to inquire after Clint, Ashley and Shannon – interns with whom they have been working over the past several months. After nearly four years of volunteering, the work is second nature; it’s the relationships that matter to them.  “We had a desire to help the less fortunate. We wanted to give people money on the street but knew that wasn’t the best. Still, we had a heart-felt desire to be part of the solution,” Mike said.

            Donna added, “We like serving together, working as a team. Here, we have the opportunity to talk to lots of people about Jesus and become part of their lives as they transition.”

1:00 p.m. Another long-time volunteer, Grace, brings a group of women from Anna Ogden Hall to shop using the points they have earned doing chores (1 point = 50 cents in-store credit). Patty, who moved in two years ago with two suitcases of belongings, has nearly completed the Sojourn recovery program. She will be moving into her own apartment soon and has saved 2,000 points to furnish it. Cheryl’s shopping for her granddaughters, and Leah is looking for basketball shorts and t-shirts.  As a new resident, she can pick out 10 free items of clothing.

1:45 p.m. Patty, 57, is ready to make her purchases – a blue-flowered couch, three lamps, an end table, a wall mirror and a picture – all for less than half her points.

2:05 p.m.  Stephanie, who is in the process of furnishing a spare bedroom, comes up to the counter with blankets and sheets.  She needs assistance with the mattress she has chosen.

3:00 p.m. DezaRae, a production intern, nears the bottom of her 6x3x3-foot bin of clothing. Each bin takes her a half-hour to an hour to sort. “She’s fast,” her supervisor, Lisa, says. As she works, she tells the story of the last ten years of her life – dealing drugs, prison, reform and working at the thrift store: “I’ve come from being ashamed of who I am to liking myself.”  Read more of DezaRae’s story>

4:35 p.m. Ruth from Global Neighborhood stands on the back dock, baby Landon on her hip.  She has brought in 10 bags of donated clothing items for which the refugees supported by her organization – families from Nepal, Burma, Iraq, Sudan and Rwanda – have no immediate need.  In exchange for her donation, she will receive vouchers the families can use to shop at the thrift store.

5:00 p.m. Alisa pulls three bags of clothing from her back seat. She works in mental health and chooses to bring her donations to the Union Gospel Mission Thrift Stores because many of the people with whom she works are homeless and in need.

6:05 p.m. Shopper Angie comes to the register with the perfect dress-up gifts for her daughter’s third birthday – flowered straw hats and a pink purse with sequins.

6:30 p.m. Trina announces over the loudspeaker that the store will be closing in 30 minutes. Tom empties the 16 trash cans and collects the carts from the parking lot. 

6:45 p.m. Adela checks the register receipts. Sales have been down for several weeks, but today the store meets its goal. For Adela, however, the register tally is not the final word. “We prayed this morning. We worked hard. We tried our best to meet people’s needs.”  Bottom line: “Every day’s a good day.”