If you could land a part-time job at your favorite store or shop, would you do it….for free?
The four Westchester volunteers I talked with for this article have chosen to commit their time to nonprofit retail shops that support larger not-for-profit organizations. The work is light, the people are interesting, and the rewards can be unexpectedly joyful.
After retiring from a career in social work, Fran DiMase began volunteering at Phelps Hospital as a patient advocate, a role that ended with the COVID-19 pandemic. When the hospital revived its volunteer corps, she took a job in the gift shop.
Every week, DiMase spends a few hours labeling and arranging merchandise, helping customers, answering the phone and ringing up sales. “Just by being here, I can brighten a person’s day,” she says. “Not just the patient—it benefits the person who’s buying the gift, too. It’s like we’re helping two people at once.” DiMase once took a phone order for flowers to be delivered to a patient’s room. “When I walked in with a get-well bouquet for this young man, he cried because he’d never received flowers before,” she says. “It made my whole day, bringing that kind of joy.”
DiMase also sees a lot of first-time fathers who stop in to buy a gift for their wife or new baby. “They’re the happiest people in the world,” she says. Other patrons are not so upbeat. “They come in sad or anxious, so if they need to talk, I’m there to listen,” she says.
Phelps volunteers wear trademark blue jackets that are instantly recognized by the hospital staff. “Whenever I walk down the hall in my jacket, everyone is friendly,” DiMase says. “They’ll say, ‘Thank you for the work you do.’ It makes me feel very appreciated.”
As a long-time member of the Junior League of Westchester, Ann Hitchings has volunteered in a multitude of roles. Lately, she’s been devoting her energy and enthusiasm to the League’s Larchmont thrift shop, The Golden Shoestring. “The discipline is good for me, and I like having a routine to look forward to,” she says.
In addition to sorting, pricing, tagging and organizing donations that come in—ranging from designer fashions and jewelry to toys and housewares—she says, “I’ll tidy the dressing room or make sure items are hung nicely. I want to make shopping here a good experience.”
Hitchings observes that thrift stores are more in vogue due to heightened awareness of the ecological impact of throwing away items that are still good. Plus, who doesn’t love a bargain? “We have great prices on some really wonderful offerings,” she says. But the key ingredient is community. “People are constantly running into their neighbors here. Our volunteers care about the customers and take their time with them. It’s what makes a thrift store a pleasant place to shop.”
After retiring from a high-pressure job in 2019, Enid Forster was eager to volunteer where she could use a different set of skills. At the White Plains Hospital Gift Shop—referred to as the Hospital Boutique by volunteer insiders—she found a position that suited her perfectly. “I’m an introvert, but I like being around people,” she says.
Once a week, Forster spends a few hours in either of the hospital’s two gift shops—one in the main hospital and the other in the cancer center. While her primary role is to assist customers, she is sensitive to the feelings of those who may be visiting someone who is gravely ill. Forster offers a calming presence without saying much, but she is always poised to listen with compassion if a customer feels the need to talk. “Often, I’ll wait on someone who’s literally in tears,” she says.
There are bright moments, too. “When former cancer patients in remission come in to visit their oncologist, they’ll often stop by to pick up a gift for themselves—a reward for what they’ve gone through,” she says. The same is true for employees who run in for snacks and treats. “It’s stressful working in a hospital, and everyone needs something to make their day more pleasant.”
Randy Carter first heard about Marquee Records after it had morphed from a pop-up record shop, designed to raise funds for the Tarrytown Music Hall, into a permanent fixture on the Music Hall’s second floor.
Located on Main Street in Tarrytown, the record shop’s vast, eclectic inventory includes not only vinyl records (45s, 33 1/3s, 78s), compact discs, cassettes, and 8-track tapes, but also record and tape players, turntables and speakers, books, concert posters, music memorabilia and more.
Though Carter’s official role is to recruit and schedule volunteers, he spends an average of three days a week in the shop, helping customers find records or managing the inventory. He also looks for creative ways to display rarities, such as a working Dictaphone machine or the store’s most intriguing oddity: an Edison wax cylinder.
“For our volunteers, this is a labor of love. We’re all record people,” Carter says. One volunteer, a retired actuary, has been collecting 45s since he was a kid. “He’s our 45s expert, looking them up online and pricing them,” says Carter. Other staff members have expanded their area of expertise by researching the genre they know and love best. Among Carter’s personal favorites is a recording of E.E. Cummings reading his own poetry.
But what attracts many of their customers, and appeals most to Carter, is the face-to-face interaction—no screens, just people talking to people. “Everyone who works or shops here enjoys the human experience,” he says. “They appreciate being able to see and handle these old records, and to talk to people who know something about them.”
Donna Moriarty is a lifelong writer, editor and author who writes about education, wellness, and personal development. She and her husband are Ossining residents, with three grown children and two elderly dachshunds. Learn (and read) more at www.silversmithwriting.com
Donna Moriarty is a lifelong writer, editor and author who writes about education, wellness, and personal development. She and her husband are Ossining residents, with three grown children and two elderly dachshunds. Learn (and read) more at www.silversmithwriting.com
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6 Dec 2024
0 Commentsretail with a cause
If you could land a part-time job at your favorite store or shop, would you do it….for free?
The four Westchester volunteers I talked with for this article have chosen to commit their time to nonprofit retail shops that support larger not-for-profit organizations. The work is light, the people are interesting, and the rewards can be unexpectedly joyful.
Every week, DiMase spends a few hours labeling and arranging merchandise, helping customers, answering the phone and ringing up sales. “Just by being here, I can brighten a person’s day,” she says. “Not just the patient—it benefits the person who’s buying the gift, too. It’s like we’re helping two people at once.”
DiMase once took a phone order for flowers to be delivered to a patient’s room. “When I walked in with a get-well bouquet for this young man, he cried because he’d never received flowers before,” she says. “It made my whole day, bringing that kind of joy.”
DiMase also sees a lot of first-time fathers who stop in to buy a gift for their wife or new baby. “They’re the happiest people in the world,” she says. Other patrons are not so upbeat. “They come in sad or anxious, so if they need to talk, I’m there to listen,” she says.
Phelps volunteers wear trademark blue jackets that are instantly recognized by the hospital staff. “Whenever I walk down the hall in my jacket, everyone is friendly,” DiMase says. “They’ll say, ‘Thank you for the work you do.’ It makes me feel very appreciated.”
In addition to sorting, pricing, tagging and organizing donations that come in—ranging from designer fashions and jewelry to toys and housewares—she says, “I’ll tidy the dressing room or make sure items are hung nicely. I want to make shopping here a good experience.”
Hitchings observes that thrift stores are more in vogue due to heightened awareness of the ecological impact of throwing away items that are still good. Plus, who doesn’t love a bargain? “We have great prices on some really wonderful offerings,” she says. But the key ingredient is community. “People are constantly running into their neighbors here. Our volunteers care about the customers and take their time with them. It’s what makes a thrift store a pleasant place to shop.”
Once a week, Forster spends a few hours in either of the hospital’s two gift shops—one in the main hospital and the other in the cancer center. While her primary role is to assist customers, she is sensitive to the feelings of those who may be visiting someone who is gravely ill. Forster offers a calming presence without saying much, but she is always poised to listen with compassion if a customer feels the need to talk. “Often, I’ll wait on someone who’s literally in tears,” she says.
There are bright moments, too. “When former cancer patients in remission come in to visit their oncologist, they’ll often stop by to pick up a gift for themselves—a reward for what they’ve gone through,” she says. The same is true for employees who run in for snacks and treats. “It’s stressful working in a hospital, and everyone needs something to make their day more pleasant.”
Located on Main Street in Tarrytown, the record shop’s vast, eclectic inventory includes not only vinyl records (45s, 33 1/3s, 78s), compact discs, cassettes, and 8-track tapes, but also record and tape players, turntables and speakers, books, concert posters, music memorabilia and more.
Though Carter’s official role is to recruit and schedule volunteers, he spends an average of three days a week in the shop, helping customers find records or managing the inventory. He also looks for creative ways to display rarities, such as a working Dictaphone machine or the store’s most intriguing oddity: an Edison wax cylinder.
“For our volunteers, this is a labor of love. We’re all record people,” Carter says. One volunteer, a retired actuary, has been collecting 45s since he was a kid. “He’s our 45s expert, looking them up online and pricing them,” says Carter. Other staff members have expanded their area of expertise by researching the genre they know and love best. Among Carter’s personal favorites is a recording of E.E. Cummings reading his own poetry.
But what attracts many of their customers, and appeals most to Carter, is the face-to-face interaction—no screens, just people talking to people. “Everyone who works or shops here enjoys the human experience,” he says. “They appreciate being able to see and handle these old records, and to talk to people who know something about them.”