“I’ll Volunteer Till I Can’t Drive”

The Bargain Basket is almost always a beehive of activity. But on Wednesday, November 16, the intensity at the island’s popular thrift store was off the charts.

Donations were closed early for the special volunteer event. The only items being brought into the donations area of the store were dishes of food prepared by fellow-volunteers. Bill Johenning, one of the store’s only employees, set up a barbecue grill in the back parking lot, and was busy grilling hamburgers and hot dogs instead of accepting donations as he usually does all day long. The night before he prepared a large platter of poached shrimp with a special sauce that was passed on to him from his mother, whose culinary skills he holds in high esteem.

The Bargain Basket was celebrating a very special birthday - and a very special volunteer. Evelyn DeFino was turning 90 and Bargain Basket manager, Jessica McElroy, was not about to let DeFino’s birthday pass without fanfare.

"She’ll be 90 on Sunday,” McElroy said. “We celebrated it today so we could really surprise her when she came in. She was very surprised.”

Of course, one needs to be careful when surprising a 90-year-old.

"We waited until she got up the stairs to say surprise,” McElroy joked. "We always try to celebrate all of our volunteers’ birthdays, but when you’re 90, and you’re the volunteer who’s been here the longest, I think you deserve a little extra something. So we’ve got 60 people coming over to help celebrate her birthday.”

McElroy’s predecessor as Bargain Basket manager, Samantha Arago, is now the manager of outreach and marketing for United Church of Marco Island. The Bargain Basket is a ministry arm of the church. The volunteers, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder in the donations area of the store, erupt with joy as Arago arrives.

“She’s a rock star,” volunteer Mike Rojek laughs.

“I called her sons to make sure she wasn’t going on a wild getaway for her 90th birthday and that she would be here,” Arago said. "They assured me she would. They said that they’re so thankful that she has the Bargain Basket to come to. It really does keep her in shape. She says that every day, after her shift, that she’s so happy to be a part of this store.”

Volunteers are lining up to wish DeFino a happy birthday and give her a big hug. DeFino is visibly moved.

“It’s a wonderful store,” DeFino said, "it’s a wonderful place to work. I’ve been here 30 years.”

DeFino doesn’t hesitate when asked what she likes most about volunteering at the Bargain Basket.

"The people,” DeFino said flatly. "The people you meet and just everything about it. The friends you make. The interaction you have with everybody.”

So at 90, how long does DeFino plan to continue serving the thrift store?

"Till I can’t drive,” DeFino laughs. "I’ve got two years left on my license, unless my two boys stop me.”

Arago doesn’t think that will stop the energetic 90-year-old.

"Oh, no,” Arago said, "she’ll still find a way!”

Pastor Mark Williams took time from his busy schedule to attend the celebration. He appreciates how important DeFino is to the Bargain Basket.

“As peanut butter is to jelly,” Pastor Williams said, "Evelyn DeFino is to Bargain Basket. Her enthusiasm for the store, her commitment to the store, and the life of service that she has lived out here at the Bargain Basket, really makes her personality inseparable from our mission. Her personality, and her spirit, and her dedication, and her service embody the best of what the Bargain Basket is."