Hospice thrift stores seeking dedicated volunteers
Hospice Browse & Buy in Dover is seeking volunteers. The Browse & Buy store has been at its current location at 515 Union Ave., Suite 235, Dover, for the last five years. A second store also is open in Carrollton.
“We’ve had a lack of volunteers that has lingered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dover store manager Robert Fotheringham said. “Before then we would have about 60 volunteers available in any month. It’s about half that now. Once people became concerned about staying safely away from others, many of our volunteers didn’t return.”
Volunteers can be of any age, though Fotheringham said most of those who help out at the charity thrift store are retired people looking for a little something to stay active. “And many of them have had family members who have been helped by Community Hospice. They want to give something back.”
All of the money taken in at Hospice Browse & Buy goes toward patient care at Community Hospice Truman House.
“Patients in their final days may go to Truman House for care. Families often exhaust their funds, and hospice doesn’t turn anyone away. What we do is important in the community, helping to answer a very real need,” Fotheringham said.
Browse & Buy accepts donated items for resale at its two locations. Clothing, furniture, household items, books, glassware and other items are available for sale in Dover Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The things we need volunteers to do aren’t especially difficult or taxing,” Fotheringham said. “They sort the clothes that come in from donors. They make displays of items on the shelves for sale, price clothing and other goods. There’s no really heavy work involved. Everyone helps out each other. It’s always a good group of people to work with.”
The time commitment also is easy for any schedule to absorb, Fotheringham said. “We ask that volunteers commit to at least three hours a week. Some people come in and just do that, and others will come in for a few days a week for a longer schedule. We are very flexible in working with people and around their other life commitments.”
To volunteer, stop by the Browse & Buy store in Dover or Carrollton and ask for a volunteer application. “When you bring that application back to us,” Fotheringham said, “we can talk then about scheduling and availability and see what they would like to do.”
Community Hospice has been helping area families since 1986, providing end-of-life care in the community and since 2012 at the Truman House location at 716 Commercial Ave. SW in New Philadelphia. The Browse & Buy store locations provide funding for the nonprofit Community Hospice to continue its work.
According to the organization’s website at www.myhospice.org, “Browse & Buy stores provide a critical source of funds related to Community Hospice patient care. The stores also allow the communities they serve to access reasonably priced and slightly used items.”
See the website for information on volunteering or donating to Hospice Browse & Buy or call the Dover store location at 330-365-2026.
The Carrollton Browse & Buy is at 789 N. Lisbon St. in Carrollton and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
