By The Post

The Post Thrift Store – The Difference a Volunteer Makes

Oct 7, 2019 | 6:16 AM

The Post Thrift Store

Being a volunteer has a different meaning for everyone. For some, it offers a sense of belonging and enhances social responsibility, while others use it as a means to feel productive and reduce stress. Not only does volunteering promote positive mental and physical health, but it also allows you to gain confidence, build work experience, and learn new skills. In other aspects, volunteering enhances your coping skills and improves your ability to work with others. Additionally, being a part of the Post Thrift Store family is a great way to make friends, which makes you feel happier and healthier.

The Post Thrift Store currently has 50 volunteers who cover an average of 200 hours per month. Volunteers take part in every aspect of day to day operations such as sorting donations to assess its condition, organizing to ensure products are safely placed on the shelves for purchase and cleaning. This last element is considered of most importance as not only do donate items need to be clean and presentable, but our store needs to be cleaned daily to for proper upkeep. Staff and volunteers work diligently to keep the displays clean and ready for products. Often you will see us moving these shelving to make the displays more presentable and to create a space for the variety of items. With our stock changing daily, this activity allows us to maintain a clean canvas almost daily for creative ways to show our items.

Other activities teach transferable skills such as cash handling, merchandising, computer use, conflict resolution, working with the public and other vital elements learned from on the job training. One of the many benefits of work at The Post is the opportunity to learn such skills at your own pace and having the time to grow. Once a member of our team has reached their goals, many volunteers take these skills and apply them in prospective employment within the community. In turn, The Post Thrift Store takes additional steps by providing professional reference letters. Over the years, a great deal of our team opted to remain with us long-term, in fact, some current staff members have been a part of The Post Thrift Store family for nearly 19 years.

Having long-term staff and volunteers gives us the advantage of knowledge and experience. No matter what item(s) may be donated, we typically have a member of the team who has knowledge on the product. This knowledge goes a long way it allows us to ensure items are properly assessed and priced fairly. Because of this, we value anyone who wishes to offer their time and experience to The Post.

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The Post greatly appreciates the time volunteers give whether it is as little as 3 hours per week or as many as 20 hours. This flexibility allows everyone to participate as they are able to, and maintain healthy lives. Whether you are able to come for the duration of a typical business day or simply come in a few hours a week, The Post welcomes the assistance. Our team continues to thrive because of the diverse backgrounds of our volunteers and the support of the local community.

If you are interested to join our team, or simply want to learn more about what we do, come to The Post Thrift Store Monday-Saturday between 10am-3pm. While you are there, take the opportunity to tour our store and learn more about what volunteers do during a typical day. If you would like to consider volunteering, inquire with our staff about how to apply. With the immense list of departments such as clothing, books, electronics, treasures and collectables, shoes and more, take the time to think about where you would fit in!

Our Canadian Mental Health Association family readily welcomes anyone who wishes to selflessly volunteer their time to help others, while developing both compassion and social skills that may be applied to all aspects of life.

Rebecca Riddle is the Store Manager at The Post Thrift Store for the Canadian Mental Health Association and can be reached at 403-527-0326. To find out more about volunteering visit www.thepostonline.ca or check out www.cmha-aser.ca to learn more about CMHA Programs and Events.