Muscle and Goodwill

They toil away in the heat - mostly volunteers - greeting the folks who arrive all day long at the loading dock behind the Bargain Basket on Bald Eagle Drive. Given the fact that donations are the lifeblood of the popular island thrift store that is run as a ministry of the United Church of Marco Island, you could say the outdoor workers at the Bargain Basket are the backbone of the operation.

"We probably do about 15,000 steps a day,” said Bob Kate, who manages the outdoor crew. “We carry a few thousand pounds of goods. I mean, I probably carry 100 to 200 bags of clothes and books in every day. If you just calculate it by the hour, I'm carrying one or two bags, each bag weighs 30 to 50 pounds. And that's just a bag of clothes. You might have a box of books, which is 30 or 40 pounds, and you do that for six hours a day, kind of makes a good workout by the end of the day. So it's actually a nice workout, a few thousand pounds per person just carrying items throughout the day."

It’s safe to say that the outdoor workers at Bargain Basket don’t look like couch potatoes.

"We just try to eat and drink,” Kate said. "I go through three sandwiches a day just because I'm burning through calories out here. So it's kind of fun. And the ladies always have goodies in the store. Someone’s always bringing cookies or baking things. And so it's just kind of a nice atmosphere.”

About that time, George Ann, the Bargain Basket’s librarian, arrives with several casserole dishes full of homemade biscuits and gravy. No wonder everyone enjoys volunteering there.

"I think we have 150 volunteers during the peak season,” Kate said. "And usually out here we have two or three or four volunteers on any given day, working just nonstop. We literally don't sit down the whole day from when we open at 9:00. We close at 3:00. So it's just a constant flow of cars and people in and out. And, you know, you're carrying stuff in, you're helping people put things in their cars. We have a lot of regulars you see every single day shop here. I mean, it's just fascinating the things that come through here and the things that people buy and try to squeeze in their cars. You wouldn't even believe what some of the people fit in their car.”

To be an outside worker at the Bargain Basket one needs a strong back and a kind heart. Kate and his cohorts put an emphasis on kindness when working with folks who donate goods to the thrift shop.

"If you kind of just see the interaction with the people that pull up here,” Kate said, "it's kind of how you greet them and you just make them feel appreciated that they're donating to us and we are very appreciative.”

Kate said that kindness runs throughout the Bargain Basket - and it all starts at the top.

"I think it goes from the top down,” Kate said. "I mean, honestly, it started with when I came here, Jessica and then Bill, and they've always been so welcoming with the customers and the other volunteers, and it kind of just flows from there. And you can tell just how everyone is greeted here. Everyone has this nice feeling from the people that shop here. You just want to extend that same sort of pass-it-on type of atmosphere.”

Kate said the merchandise arrives at a dizzying pace at times.

"We get a mix of merchandise here from pots and pans to dishes to plastic cups,” he said. "And you gather them and you bring them inside as fast as you can because there's usually a line of cars. So within the mix of merchandise sometimes there's something wrapped up a little nicer than the other articles. It looks kind of special. You just never know. There's hidden treasures everywhere. Some of its family heirlooms. Sometimes it's just something special someone got tired of looking at. So we price it out a reasonable number."

There are a few rules of thumb that Kate likes to pass on to donors.

"We just ask people to bring things that they think are sellable,” Kate said. “Like, in other words, sometimes people drop off rusty chairs that we probably can't sell. But we'll just dispose of them. We don't want to make them feel bad that they're giving us something that we can't sell. We appreciate everything that's donated to us. And we use the word gently used items. If we can't sell it, we donate to other charities that can find a home for it. You know, women's shelters, other charities, things of that nature.”

So do you think you have what it takes to be an outside volunteer at the Bargain Basket? Kate said he’s always looking for a few good men - or women.

“I’m sorry we don’t have any of our women working today,” he said. "We have 10 to 12 women who work with us out here. If you think you want to work here, why don't you try it for a couple of hours one day and see if that's something you want to do. Because it is physically taxing. If you have a bad knee or a bad hip, I mean, you maybe can't do it for two or three hours. Maybe you could do it for an hour. Everyone's different. Some people do it one day a week. Some people, like Doug, do it two days a week, usually two hours at a time. Some do it a little longer. People are very generous with their time. I think the key to our success here is that people are so giving with their time and they like doing it. They get something out of it."