The Community Closet Thrift Store

By Susan Henderson, Community Closet Manager

Every Monday the Community Closet Thrift Store receives a wealth of donations from a local consignment shop. These donations, like all the clothing people donate to us, form the backbone of our business. Everything we sell is donated; in fact most everything in our shop is donated. From the racks we use to the laminate flooring we walk on, a person or a business gave it to us.

Community Closet Thrift Store volunteers, Tammy Walker and Judith Donaldson.

It isn't only material items that are donated. Volunteers give generously of their time, day in and day out, to make sure the Community Closet is a success. Without the effort of the almost 40 volunteers that keep the store open and operating, there might not be a Community Closet.

The work the volunteers do is done, not to earn money, but for reasons varied and often personal. Many say what got them interested in volunteering was having an opportunity to join, learn about and support their community. We are very grateful they have chosen to volunteer for the James Bay Community Project (affectionately known as the "Project" by those who frequent it).

Back to what 'success' means for the Community Closet. At its simplest, success means generating a profit that can be used to support the many programs offered by the Project. Not all programs are funded by government or corporate donors; some are helped by the proceeds of the Closet.

If we peel back a layer to understand more of what success means, we see something different. Folks finding good quality, gently used clothing for a very good price. And maybe that almost new sweater or jacket made a potential employer look more closely at an applicant. Maybe you know that old saying "If you look good, you feel good. And if you feel good, you do good." I think there is some truth to that.

We would be missing another point if we didn't peek under another layer, if we didn't think about the volunteers who come in for their shift every week. Not only do they come in and work hard to sort, iron and make all the donated clothing "ready for sale" - many have told me they look forward to it. How can we not say we've achieved some measure of success when people are looking forward to their next volunteer shift at the Closet?

So when you look in your own closet and think you have nothing to wear, take another look. There might be someone who would be happy and proud to wear what you no longer do. So please consider donating your gently used clothing to us. I've talked about success and how it can be measured in different ways: I figure if you, our individual donors and customers, still shop at and donate to the Closet - then we can claim another little bit of success. That we have connected to our community. Thank you for your ongoing support.