When voluntary workers at First and Second Thrift Store expressed concern that the 2019 profits ($88,600) from the store weren’t going to be paid out, the Cook County Council on Aging, which oversees the operation, agreed to meet with leaders of the store and work out a deal to distribute 70 percent of the 2019 dollars to 36 area non-profits.
The original plan in February, 2020 was to hold the annual pay-out party at the The Hub (senior center) and hand the checks out to representatives of the non-profits that include churches, schools, social services programs, the care center etc.
That changed, however, said Dale McIntire, the chairperson for the Council on Aging, when the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country.
“First,” said McIntire, “there was a plan, and then COVID-19 reared its ugly head and challenged the plan. After months of sometimes difficult and anxiety-producing discussion, trying to peer through the fog of an uncertain future for the First and Second Thrift Store, given the demands of both the virus and the imminent Highway 61 reconstruction, the Council on Aging and the volunteer workforce of the Thrift Store together affirmed the plan presented by Pat Zankman, one of three of the store’s winter managers, to a 70 percent distribution of the store’s 2019 profits to waiting local non-profits.”
A total of $62,024.24, was divided among 36 local non-profits and mailed Wednesday, May 13, 2020. McIntire said, “The additional
30 percent will be held in reserve until such time as the store recovers from any setbacks as a result of the shutdown or of the highway construction. Expenses to reopen and stay open will be accessed from the 30 percent, if necessary. Any of the 30 percent that remains once the store is profitable again will be distributed at a time to be determined later.”
While the First and Second Thrift Store remains closed, the bills continue on at about $3,000 per month.
At the end of the year, the volunteers who work at First & Second have their hours added up and a dollar amount per hour is assigned to those hours. Last year an hour of labor was worth $17.50. The volunteers, who numbered about 50 last year, assign their earnings to a nonprofit organization.
Leave a Reply