Yesterday, I worked at the Volunteers of America Thrift Store. I worked while they were having a huge clothing sale, so they asked me to help sort and organize clothing. This seemed to be easy enough task, but I quickly discovered it wasn’t due to the crowds of people sifting through the racks for the best deals.

As I sorted the clothing, making sure that everything was on the correct rack with the correct colors, I saw some really awesome stuff for amazing prices. Forget Target and Walmart this season, Volunteers of America is the new hot spot. I am actually wearing a sweater I bought off the rack after my shift for less than five dollars. I was even able to knock off a few items from my Christmas list!

As I was paying for my items, I asked the manager who the money goes to, and if the money stays local. She said that most of the money raised at their thrift store does stay local and helps the homeless, veterans and veterans programs, and a community kitchen. She told me that they receive about 15,000 new items to sell in their store each week. I enjoyed volunteering my time with Volunteers of America very much and plan to go volunteer there again soon.

– Audra Ellis, Outreach Specialist