In the mid 1970’s, several women and men in their thirties got thinking, “How can we take the Sunday morning message of serving others and put that call into action during the week?” After some brainstorming, Care & Share Thrift Shoppes in Souderton, PA was born.
From its very beginning, Care & Share has been in the Souderton (PA) Center on Route 113. Currently, there are 5 shoppes – Furniture, Clothing, Books, Variety, and the Outlet. Care & Share also has an online presence on eBay. We are grateful for the quality and volume of donations we receive from our generous donors. These donations have made us well known for selling “high quality” products.
The dollars spent at Care & Share impact thousands of lives. In 2019, over 200,000 transactions took place at our registers. Further, we were the first independent, non-profit thrift store in the US or Canada to give over one million dollars to charity in one calendar year (2019). Since 1975, over 19 million dollars have been given to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as a result of purchases at our shoppes.
Care & Share is not only about raising money for MCC. It stands as a place where community is built. We hear from customers and volunteers – Care & Share is “church” for them.
This non-profit business is run by 52 paid employees who bring an enthusiasm for empowering our volunteers who are the heart of Care & Share. It is the volunteer’s gift of time and talent that creates our success.
We welcome a wide range of volunteers – ages 8 to over 100 years old. Some join us through the more “traditional” route as they are looking for “something to do” in retirement. Volunteers also join us through a group, such as a youth, work, school, family, or service group. We host those who need to serve hours for court ordered community service. Other individuals are volunteering, with staff support, from 40+ organizations who work with folks with disabilities. They may come for one reason, but they stay because they found a home in the community.
The Care & Share community is greatly impacted by the pandemic. During the three months that we were closed, we did our very best to stay connected to our “community.” We shared inspiring phone calls, increased the distribution of our e-newsletter, and created a live cooking show on Facebook. Our community greatly missed us, almost as much as we missed them!
By mid-June, we re-opened two shoppes, with modified hours, run by our paid staff. We are following the state guidelines with masks/face shields, social distancing, and increases in cleaning. These steps have added significant costs to our operation.
Fortunately, by July, we had enough volunteers to open another shoppe. Only 30% of our 1,000+ volunteer base has returned to serving. We will need many more helping hands, on a regular basis, to reopen all of our shoppes. We do not want our volunteers to return until they are comfortable to do so. We will be patient!
Please pray for the pandemic to end. Our customers, volunteers, and employees are struggling under the increased anxiety and isolation it is causing. Please pray that Care & Share can continue to be a light in our community. Please refer us as a place to volunteer. We can accommodate larger groups even with social distancing in place.
Please consider making a financial donation to MCC. The loss of donations from thrift shops and relief sales is causing MCC to rely on individual donors more than ever. Care & Share is grateful for your support.