Thirty-five nonprofits received financial support from the 1st & 2nd Thrift Store, thanks to volunteers who logged hours in the store. Checks were distributed during a celebration at the Cook County Senior Center on Wednesday, January 27. Council on Aging board member Walt Mianowski presented the checks. Here, Sarah Somnis and her daughter, Lynda, accept a check for Birch Grove Community School.
The Cook County Senior Center was filled with excited people on Wednesday, January 27 as 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. Gerry Grant, winter manager of the store, welcomed everyone and reported that the store had done quite well last year.
She said 35 nonprofits would be sharing in the $73,088 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 $16, up a great deal from the original payout of $5.98 in 2008 and the $12 paid in 2014.
Grant, who shares store management duties with Lois Johnson, said this was her third winter as manager. She said it is probably the most enjoyable volunteer activity she has ever taken part in. “I’ve gotten to meet all kinds of people I probably never would have if not for the store,” she said.
Looking at the amount of money made and using an average price per item of $5, Grant said it is estimated that volunteers working in the store handled 14,617 items in 2015. “That’s a lot of sorting, pricing and arranging,” she said. “That makes me happy…but it also makes me tired.”
Grant announced that this would be her last year as winter manager. She encouraged someone else to take on the task, noting that she would be willing to share some of the duties.
Senior Center Director Bev Green, also director of the Cook County Council on Aging, noted that the council is the organization that oversees 1st & 2nd. Green and Council on Aging board member Walt Mianowski then presented the checks.
Benefitting organizations ranged from $64 to the Superior Bicycling Association to $2,849 for the Grand Marais Playhouse and $4,620 for the Cook County Girl Scouts.
The top earning nonprofit with the most volunteer hours (1,253.50) was the Cook County Council on Aging, which received $20,056.
For information on volunteering at 1st and 2nd and helping your favorite nonprofit, contact Bev Green at the Cook County Senior Center at (218) 387-2660 or Gerry Grant at 387-4493.
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