Photo By Vanessa Schell | Donna Hamilton, lead volunteer, and Nicole Dennehy Williams, military spouse...... read more read more
Mark your calendars! August 17 is National Thrift Store Day and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society thrift store aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, will be open, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The MCLB Barstow NMCRS thrift store currently has two active volunteers, who open the store and manage all the donations. They’re actively seeking more volunteers.
Donna Hamilton, lead volunteer, travels from Victorville, California, having retired there after working over 20 years as a stockbroker in Phoenix, Arizona. By chance she attended a luncheon on base and happened across the information packet for volunteer opportunities on base, put together by the volunteer coordinator at the time, Beth Simpson.
“There were so many opportunities on base and in Barstow, and I just honed in on the one about the thrift store. I went home and sent an email, then 90 minutes later, I got a phone call and they said ‘your timing is impeccable! Our current volunteer is being transferred to Texas,’” said Hamilton. “So, I started volunteering right away. Now, here I am still. It has been very rewarding and it’s something I can do for people.”
Hamilton has been volunteering at the thrift store since April 2021, officially as the lead volunteer in May 2021 after the previous lead left for Texas. As a lead volunteer, she does the bookkeeping, all the paperwork (which is sent to the NMCRS aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California) and onboards new volunteers, all on top of the day-to-day functions of the store.
“For about a year and a half, I was by myself. It was a lot of work, but that’s what I signed up for. You expect that there’s going to be some work that’s going into it. So, [in the beginning] I just went room by room and did as much as I could,” said Hamilton.
Volunteering at the thrift store was not Hamilton’s first experience with NMCRS. Hamilton’s father was a career Marine, who retired after 36 years during which he served two tours in Vietnam. In the 1960s, during his second tour, for some reason his allotment checks were not sent back to the US.
“My mom had four kids and we didn’t have any money. She tapped into the Navy-Marine Corps Society Relief funds so she could fix the washing machine, buy groceries, get gas, whatever, even back then in the 60s,” said Hamilton. “It is very honorable, now, to help on this side, after my family had been helped on the other side. I help bring in business and bring in revenue so that we can help more families.”
Nicole Dennehy Williams, the other volunteer at the thrift store, is a military spouse who immigrated from Ireland and has been volunteering on base since arriving a year ago.
“As an immigrant, I couldn’t immediately work and I didn’t know anyone, so I thought ‘what have I gotten myself into,’” said Dennehy Williams, with a laugh. “Then one day, at the gym, I happened to run into Kim Owens, another volunteer on base who is involved in many things, and she told me about all these volunteer opportunities. So, then I thought, ‘okay, I do need something to spend my time on and it will be a really good way to get to know people.’”
Williams is still waiting to legally be able to work in the US, but her professional experience in community development and social outreach in Ireland gave her crucial skills for thriving in all her volunteer opportunities. She also volunteers for the Lifestyle, Insight, Networks, Knowledge and Skills program, where she serves as a certified mentor.
“It’s been nice to give something back. The military life is so different from the civilian life. You come out here [to a base] and there are so many more resources. There are so many opportunities to ask for help and someone will step up to help you. It’s nice to be able to turn the tables, to do something that gives back in some way,” Williams said. “It is more than just a thrift store; it is really building on the sense of community here."
Marines from the Single Marine Program will also volunteer their time to sort through the store’s donations and organize the donation storeroom. Hamilton and Williams are always grateful for more help at the thrift store. If you are a single Marine and want to get involved, see the SMP calendar (hanging up in the SMP recreation center) for a full list of volunteer opportunities and contact the SMP coordinator, Albert “AJ” Jacobs, for more information, (760) 577-5889 or albert.jacobs@usmc-mccs.org.
Not only does the thrift store give volunteers invaluable experience, that they can put on their resume, but customer interactions also have a lasting impact.
“One time, relatively recently, we had a group come in, looking for a gift for their pregnant friend. They wanted to surprise her with some baby items. It was so much fun, we had some brand new, still in the box, highchairs and a baby bouncer. They were so excited!” said Williams.
“You will get more familiar with people, the people who come into the store and the people who work on the base. Some of them are acquaintances and some of them are, dare I say, lifelong friends. One person in particular is a constant presence in here. She’s always shopping. She’ll tell me, ‘hey, I need this item or that item, please keep an eye out,’” said Hamilton. “She was in here recently and picked up a couple things that I had put aside for her. She told me they’re perfect and gave me a new list of items to look out for. I already knew exactly where to go, what to look for and what will fit her,” said Hamilton.
American author, Elizabeth Andrews, once said “volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”
Williams was also involved in charitable programs in Ireland, such as running 10Ks or serving on committees for wildlife organizations. Before moving to California, Hamilton had spent long hours on Saturdays in Phoenix volunteering for a homeless shelter that operated similarly on donations.
“That was a cool job, just as much as this one is a cool job,” said Hamilton. “The NMCRS helps a greater good than what I can do here, but I’m still a little cog in that wheel.”
“The more people who get involved, the more we can do, the more we can give back,” said Williams. “I find volunteering is a really, really good way to make yourself at home in a community. It helps put down roots, so you don’t feel like you’re isolated.”
According to the 2023 impact report released by the NMCRS, available on their website, 130,000 patrons visited NMCRS thrift stores and purchased items, there were 211 NMCRS locations worldwide and 4100 volunteers, all of which contributed to nearly 200,000 clients receiving assistance through the various NMCRS programs and $50 million in financial assistance.
Interested in volunteering? No experience necessary. More volunteers mean the thrift store could be open more during the week and be able to process more donations. Please visit https://support.nmcrs.org/a/volunteer-nmcrs and fill out the form. Or, alternatively, scan the QR code, posted on the window outside of the NMCRS thrift store.
The NMCRS thrift store is housed at building 204, across the street from the Marine Corps Exchange. Store hours are every Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and every first and third Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and donations are only accepted during store hours.
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2024 17:32 |
| Story ID: | 478412 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 159 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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