Service Reflecion: The Hope Chest
- The Hope Chest was established in 1994. It's a not-for-profit upscale re-sale shop that runs solely on volunteers. All proceeds from the clothes that are donated and re-sold go the the Pillars Constance Morris House, which is a domestic abuse shelter for women and children trying to escape abusive relationships. The proceeds go to the Pillars Constance Morris House so that the residents can live there for free, eat for free, and be provided with therapists and counseling; along with clothing for the residents as well. Website Link: http://www.thehopechest.net
- My service experience took place Saturday, May 2nd, at 11am-4pm. It took place at the Hope Chest in LaGrange, Illinois.
- At first, Sandy who is one of the supervisors was there, along with two other volunteers Jean and Meryl. They left an hour after I arrived, and then Pat, another supervisor, came and worked with me. There were also customers throughout the day, along with people dropping off donations.
- I sorted donations into which clothes to keep for selling and which clothes to throw away (clothes that were in bad condition or stained), I steamed the clothes, and hung the steamed clothes to be priced. I hung up the priced clothes on the racks and made sure the clothes were arranged by color on the shelves. I also cleaned up the back room. The supervisors approved of the clothes that us volunteers chose to keep to be sold, priced the items, and worked the cash register. The supervisors told me what I should be doing next and I asked them questions about various items and ways to do things efficiently.
- Some customers didn't speak when they came into the shop. The supervisors and other volunteers laughed with me and chatted with me as we were working.
- One effective interaction I had while volunteering was helping a lady carry in her donations. She had several boxes of clothes to donate and it gave me a good feeling asking her if I could lend a hand. She talked the most because she seemed to be happy that all of her used clothes would be going to a good cause; she told me that she sorted though them all and made sure they were all in great condition. She ended the interaction by thanking us for accepting her donations, and we said "no, thank you!"
- I learned that volunteering can actually be really fun and the time can go by fast when having fun and interacting with people. I would definitely volunteer there again in the future.
