GIVING BACK WITH PURPOSE:
Meet Sharon Betts, Our Thrift Store Volunteer Extraordinaire
“When you go into a Thrift store to shop, you don’t realize all the work, the true work that goes on behind the scenes in the back in the clothing/sorting area and hanging and tagging area.”
Sharon Betts has been volunteering with MH close to 20 years. Sharon has served at Miracle Hill’s Annual Banquet, Kids Ninja Challenge, and over the past 5-6 years has started volunteering at Thrift. Sharon has volunteered at 5 of the 10 Miracle Hill Thrift Stores. Sharon is also an employee of Miracle Hill Ministries and just celebrated 37 years this past August, all in Children’s Ministries.
Sharon started volunteering at Traveler’s Rest Thrift to give back to the ministry by serving. “And so, volunteering just began in a way that I just realized that there was definitely a need out there and that was a way I could serve and that we were in ministry together.” Sharon saw how the team, even when short-staffed, worked hard and worked so well together, “that it just really hit me”. So, when Sharon had extra time, she would stop at the store to volunteer.
When asked what Sharon likes to do most at Thrift, “I like doing anything, really anything. They have taught me so many new skills that I would never have known how to do.” Sharon started off by learning how to process clothes: sorting, tagging and hanging. During her time at Thrift, Sharon has also learned how to sort, price and run bric brac (home goods) and has most recently learned how to work the donation door.
Sharon also volunteers at the Easley Thrift Store where she has recruited her mother, Esther, and together they help with Easley’s weekly clothing production goal.
When asked what she loves most about volunteering at Miracle Hill, Sharon says, “It’s a way to give back to the Ministry. For 37 years, I have been in Foster Care in Children’s Ministry and have seen the influence that the thrift stores have had on those ministries. We couldn’t operate our facilities, shelters or Foster Care Program without funding. In this year’s fiscal report, I see that about 26% support comes from Thrift.”
Thank you, Sharon, for your servant’s heart and for volunteering at Thrift, with a willingness to do whatever is the highest need at the time.
If you would like to volunteer at Thrift, please contact Pamela Ballard at 864-631-0144 or pballard@miraclehill.org.
