The Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary hopes volunteers will come to its aid so it can continue to provide assistance to the hospital.
Last year, the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary was able to purchase $110,000 of much-needed equipment for Royal Columbian Hospital. The New to You second-hand store on East Columbia Street, as well as the lotto booth, book cart and gift shop at Royal Columbian Hospital are the venues where volunteers raise funds for the hospital.
Marlene Braidwood, president of the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary, said the goal is to increase the amount it’s able to donate to the hospital this year. But in order to make that happen, the auxiliary is in “desperate” need of more volunteers at the New to You thrift store.
“We are always in need of volunteers. Right now we are desperately in need of volunteers,” Braidwood said of the thrift store, where the majority of the auxiliary members volunteer. “We are just down in people right now. We are OK in all our other venues, but this shop is desperate.”
Volunteers at the New to You thrift store accept, sort and price donations, put them in their assigned areas of the store, ring up sales on the cash register, tidy the store and greet customers. Most volunteers are at the store one day a week, either for a full shift or for a few hours in the morning or afternoon.
“At this point we will take what we can get,” said assistant manager Susan Pearson. “We had a few days there where we had to close at 2:30 or 3 p.m. You know how annoying it is when you go to a shop and it should be open and it’s closed.”
A shortage of volunteers means the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary isn’t able to accomplish some of its goals with the thrift store, which is located at 416 East Columbia St.
“We need more time to update the store,” Pearson said. “I find that some things are not working and we have to have time to redesign it. If you are constantly pricing clothes you don’t have time to do that.”
The auxiliary aims to update the shop and make it look fresher as a way of building business.
“We are getting a lot more younger women coming in. It used to be word of mouth. You’d get a lot of retirees, retired nurses and that coming in. Now we are getting more residents,” Pearson said. “It’s a great thing.”
Because the shop is run by volunteers, all proceeds go to the hospital. That also means the thrift store is able to keep prices low because it’s not paying staff.
“The prices have gotten so high in the stores,” said Pearson, who’s noticed an increase in the number of people shopping at thrift stores. “Our prices, on clothing especially, are ridiculously low. We are probably at least half of what the other big thrift stores are because they have to pay staff. Staff is your biggest expense.”
In addition to socializing with the other volunteers, Pearson says it’s rewarding to know their efforts are appreciated.
“They had us come over to the hospital one day,” she said. “One of the doctors in the lab showed us this machine – he said, ‘You wouldn’t believe how many lives you have saved with this machine.’”
Born at Royal Columbian Hospital and raised in New Westminster, Pearson is happy to be able to contribute to the community.
“I want to give back to the community that I love,” she said. “The fact that I have great fun with the store and other volunteers is a bonus.”
For more information or to volunteer, contact Susan at 604-916-5083.
