When longtime Iolans Richard and CeCe Huston decamp for Leavenworth this month, the Iola Senior Citizens thrift shop at 223 N. State St. will lose two essential members of its roughly 12-person volunteer corps.
The loss puts the squeeze on a facility which, despite the great gobs of cash it pours into local causes — the store generated more than $20,000 for charity just last year — struggles perennially to fill the volunteer requirements to staff the shop Monday through Friday.
“We need volunteers badly,” stresses CeCe, who arrived at the store 10 years ago as a customer, but then, recognizing an opportunity to pitch in, never left. “We need the help simply to stay open.”
The modest facility on North State Street, with its faded sign proclaiming “rummage sale,” was launched almost 40 years ago on the astute conjecture that by helping a single individual — helping a man find cheap work pants or a mother find toys for her children — you could aid an entire community.
“We donate all the money back to the area,” said Richard.
“To Hope Unlimited,” says Cece.
“Hospice,” says Richard.
“ACARF, Faith House.”
“The Pregnancy Resource Center.”
“Everything,” says Cece.
“Schools, too,” says Richard. “We give money to the first and second grades for their milk program. And the Community Garden, we gave them —”
“One thousand dollars recently,” Cece said.
Allen County owns the Iola Senior Citizens, Inc. building and pays utility costs. “We’d be lost without the county,” reflects Cece. “Their paying for the building and utilities allows us to sell jeans for 25 cents.” And shoes for 20. “We couldn’t do that without the county’s help.”
The work of a volunteer, explains Richard, is as simple as “going through the stuff that people donate, saving the good stuff, then selling it.”
“If an item is dirty or broken, though,” says CeCe, “we don’t keep it. We try to keep the best stuff. … We have some customers who come in more than once a day to see if anything new has come in.”
