Sarah Kloos,

Special to the Valley Echo

Volunteer work is a great way to give back to the community. A well-known establishment that relies on volunteers is the Invermere Health Care Auxiliary Thrift Store. However, the volunteers who work there could always use more help.

“The more hands you have, the lighter the load,” said Linda Fairhart, a volunteer at the Thrift Store.

Some people may ask: “Why would someone want to become a volunteer?” People volunteer to give back to the community, and interact with people. Fairhart also found that volunteering was a great way to get to know the community when she was new in town.

There are two ways to become a volunteer at the Thrift Store: dropping in and picking up an application, or sending a request by email to InvermereThriftStore@gmail.com.

There are three areas of volunteer work at the Thrift Store: receiving donated goods, sorting, and selling. Most people only know about the selling portion.

The Thrift Store is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; however, a lot of work gets done to make those selling days happen. Receivers bring in all the items that are donated to the Thrift Store and categorize them. They work all week with three shifts per day. Sorters sort through the different categories to decide what is fit to sell and they organize the items in the store. They work Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Friday morning.

With all the work that needs doing, the Thrift Store is always on the lookout for more volunteers. Many of the current volunteers are seasonal, which makes it hard to find enough people to work year-round.

However, the Thrift Store is trying out new ways to bring in more volunteers. Current volunteers are encouraged to bring a friend to work. The Thrift Store has advertisements in the newspaper. Some volunteers have just started a Facebook page, and hope to get more involved in social media. They appreciate the help of old and young volunteers, and volunteers of any gender.

The community at the Thrift Store is always changing and evolving. Sales have doubled in the past two years with the new location, which means they can make larger contributions to the Invermere Health Care Auxiliary.The Invermere Health Care Auxiliary provides money for healthcare in the community and in the region. It’s a great cause to get behind.