Once a year the 1st and 2nd Thrift Store returns its profits to the community. Throughout the year, volunteers earn money for a nonprofit of their choice by working in the store. On Wednesday, January 21, some of those volunteers and representatives of the nonprofit organizations that benefit gathered at the Cook County Senior Center. Thirty-four organizations received a total of $51,525.
On January 21, representatives of many local nonprofit organizations gathered at the Cook County Senior Center to find out how the 1st and 2nd Thrift Store in Grand Marais had fared in the past year. Bev Green, director of the Cook County Council on Aging, which oversees the thrift store, was happy to report that things had gone well. She said 34 nonprofits would be sharing in the $51,525 in proceeds from the store.
The store and donation center are staffed by volunteers from community nonprofits whose hours are credited to the organization they choose. This year the hourly rate paid for those volunteer hours was $12, up a great deal from the original payout of $5.98 in 2008.
Payouts to organizations ranged from $48 for the Cook County ATV Club and Superior Bicycling Association to $1,248 for Arrowhead Animal Rescue and $1,149 for Great Expectations School. The top earning nonprofit with the most volunteer hours (277.25) was St. John’s Catholic Church, which received $3,327.
1st and 2nd’s winter manager Gerry Grant, who shares store management duties with Lois Johnson, said, “We wish to thank everyone who made this possible: the donors who brought quality clothing and household goods to our donation center; the volunteers who prepared the merchandise and staffed the store and the customers who purchased the merchandise and turned the donations into cash for the community.”
For information on volunteering at 1st and 2nd, contact Bev Green at the Cook County Senior Center at (218) 387-2660 or Gerry Grant at 387-4493.
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