The Wish Closet Runs on Volunteer Power

There are no paid staff at the Wish Closet. Every "helper" is a volunteer. And we all have our unique reasons for wanting to volunteer at the Wish Closet. But we all share a deep desire to nurture. We all want people to know they are cared about no matter what their life circumstances may be at that moment in time.

Since January 1, 2011, more than 650 volunteer hours have been clocked at the Wish Closet. And that doesn't count our Super Organizer's hours. Audra is a dynamo behind the scenes. She nestles away in the "dungeon" - the room where all of our donations are dropped off. She spends countless, tireless hours each and every week sorting through the donations and carefully making piles for each "shift" of volunteers to put on the racks and on the shelves. We would be in quite a pickle if it weren't for Audra' dedication.

I remember in the early days of the Wish Closet, we would open the smaller storage room and literally surf over bags of donations to try and find a specific request for a customer. When the storage of donations moved to the larger room, which we lovingly call "the dungeon", the piles just spread sideways and really were a fire and safety hazard. Not to be deterred, our Wish Closet Creator, Betty Finley, called Audra in to put her organizational skills into action. Now when we go to seek a specific item, we know exactly where to look and we can get there without endangering our limbs! A huge big thank you to you, Audra!

And speaking of a strong need to nurture...our Wednesday Morning volunteer, Bernadette learned about the Wish Closet through a group that she belongs to. Not long after that, she offered to volunteer and has been with the Wish Closet for about three years. One of Bernadette's behind the scenes contributions are the gifts that she puts together for special occasions. Every year as we approach Mother's Day, we have a raffle draw and Bernadette is the person who works away each week, gathering gift items, then making them up into gift baskets to be raffled off for our Moms. This year, Bernadette also made up gifts for our dads who come to the Wish Closet

Every year, twice a year, since our inception in 2007, we have hosted the Teen Parenting Program at the Wish Closet. These are always very special evenings for us. We have been the very fortunate recipients of donations from the Multiples N More group's garage sale. This allows the teen parents to get really good quality items that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford for their babes. This is such an amazing partnership and we are so proud to be able to broker this connection.

Early on, we recognized that the moms were reluctant to "shop" for themselves. So much of their time, energy, money and resources go towards their babes. So, as a way to let the moms know how much they are appreciated, we started giving out gifts. We used to raffle them off. But this year, Bernadette, receiving fair warning that the moms were coming, made up gifts for each mom. The moms were THRILLED to be able to take a gift bag.  Thank You Bernadette!

While we try to put out items that are in good repair, clean, and untorn, we occassionaly get an item that needs a little bit of TLC. Such as a button. Another one of our Wish Closet volunteers is only too happy to take on the task of making sure clothing is in good shape and ready to go for our customers. Thank you Sharron!

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. At the Wish Closet, it takes an army of angels to make our endeavour successful. THANK YOU to each and every volunteer. We can not do this without you.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.  ~Margaret Meade