A local thrift store brings on the bargains while benefiting the local Presbyterian hospital.
Made up of volunteers, the Bargain Box, has been in operation since 1992, selling items from clothing to knickknacks and glassware. Starting in a little room in the Carter Center, before moving to a city building and now to its present location, the store has endured many changes, but continues to hold strong in the community.
All the proceeds of donated merchandise are used to supplement the hospital’s budget or to buy equipment the hospital needs.
“The hospital has needs I didn’t even know about,” Bargain Box manager and volunteer Betty Casselberry said. “One year we bought extra-wide wheelchairs, because some people are extra-wide.”
The Bargain Box is different from the other resale stores in town. Everyone who works at the shop is a volunteer and all the money raised stays in Commerce.
“The Goodwill and Women in Need, not all of their money stays in town,” Casselberry said.
In 2006, the Bargain Box raised $35,000.
“We believe in the hospital,” Casselberrysaid. “We wanted to keep our local hospital so people didn’t have to drive out-of-town to get emergency medical care.”
The Bargain Box has supplied the hospital with everything from bedside chairs and tables to a new emergency room.
“The hospital gives us a shopping listevery year,” Casselberry said. “We just don’t buy their medicine.”
The hospital is not the only one feeling the positive effects.
Casselberry said the store routinely dresses local children in winter gear free of charge to help them keep warm.
And that is one of many stories she has to tell.
“During the Hurricane Katrina situation, we dressed a lot of people who came to Commerce with what they had in their car,” she said. “We really spent a lot of time and it was a very rewarding experience.”
The resale shop survives from donations from the community. It is always in need of coats and blankets.
“You wouldn’t believe how many people don’t have blankets for the winter,” Casselberry said.
Casselberry started her work with the Bargain Box when she retired from the public school system.
“I always worked in a job with long hours and never had the chance to give back to the community,” Casselberry said. “I wanted to help people. I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t believe in it. It’s a lot of fun!”
Casselberry said it is also fun to open a big garbage bag and see what is inside.
“You never know what you’re going to find,” she said.
This past Christmas, the Bargain Box opened up a Christmas Store. One section of the shop was dedicated solely to Christmas items.
“The Christmas Store started as a fluke,” Casselberry said. “We get Christmas items every year, usually when people are decorating their house or taking down decorations. They donate them to us, and we usually stored it. We just didn’t have room to display it all.”
The landlord of their current location, an attorney from Dallas, allowed the Bargain Box to use extra room at the front of the building to host the Christmas items.
During the months leading up to the holiday, the Christmas shop raised almost $1,500.
The Bargain Box is always looking for donations and volunteers. It is located at1407 Maple St, is open from 10 a.m. to 1p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.