Marines

Photo Information

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The shop sells donated items that it receives from the local community and include house ware, clothing, uniform items and baby clothes. The thrift store has just recently started to sell some digital camouflage utilities to active duty service members for 10 dollars for a set or five dollars for a top or bottom. The Staff Noncommissioned Officers Wives' Club Thrift Shop offers service members and families the opportunity to benefit from donated items. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Holgersen)

Photo by Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Holgersen

Thrift Shop affordable, a good cause

30 Aug 2005 | Lance Cpl. Brandon R. Holgersen Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

The Staff Noncommissioned Officers Wives’ Club Thrift Shop offers service members and families the opportunity to benefit from donated items.

The thrift store was created to help support the wives of deployed troops by raising money using it to help them out in hard times, according to Maggy Williams president of the SNCOs wives club.

The shop sells donated items it receives from the local community which include house ware, clothing, uniform items and baby clothes, according to Williams. The thrift store has just recently started to sell some digital camouflage utilities to active duty service members for $10 a set or $5 for a top or bottom.

The money raised by the shop is also used for scholarships given to active duty, reserve, and retired service members and their family members, according to Williams. Last year $30,000 was given in different scholarships, the largest being $3,000.
The thrift shop will have a fashion show coming soon to raise money for the scholarships and to promote awareness of why the thrift shop is here, according to Williams.

The thrift shop is completely run by volunteers from the community, and a person does not need to be apart of the club to volunteer or be a family member of someone in the armed services, according to Mindy Ussery, a volunteer at the thrift shop.

“You don’t have to volunteer full time, even if you could come in for an hour, it would be helpful,” said Ussery. “Every little bit helps.”

Donations are also tax deductible. A person can receive a receipt for items donated for tax right offs, according to Carmon Ramos, a volunteer at the thrift shop.

“There is no limit on what people bring,” said Ramos. “We sometimes get stuff donated that is brand new and still has the tags on it. Once we put it on the floor it disappears though. We get anything you can imagine.”

The thrift shop is open 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 5 – 8 p.m. Mondays; Wednesdays and Fridays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.; and the first Saturday of month 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more information, call 451-5591.