EVERETT – Charlotte Romo never knows what’s in the donation bags.
There might be some nice clothes that she can put in the display window for Mother’s Day, or maybe some Barbie dolls that will bring a grin to a child’s face. Once, she found five $100 bills in a donated book.
“I like to listen to people who come to donate,” said Romo, the Assistance League thrift shop chairwoman. “They all have different stories and different reasons to donate.”
She’s heard many stories during the 10 years she’s volunteered at the shop.
Some who have come to donate told her about their deceased family members.
“I didn’t know she had all this stuff,” one man said to Romo when he brought his wife’s clothes to donate after she died.
Some told her about the old photos they found while cleaning up a closet.
“She greets us like we are her best friends,” Donna Stockholm, who brought some clothes to donate, said about Romo.
Three times a week, the Camano Island woman drives to the Everett thrift shop to sort, clean and price donations.
The shop is the main fundraising source for Operation School Bell, an Assistance League program that provides help to children from low-income families. Profits are used to buy clothes and school supplies for kids.
“She takes care of the thrift shop like it’s her baby,” said Paulette Jacobson, Romo’s co-worker at the thrift shop. “She has so much energy.”
Romo, a “dynamo” from the perspectives of her co-workers, was born in Everett. She grew up dreaming of becoming a nurse but changed her career track to work for Sears after falling in love with the retailing business.
She feels confident in her skills as a businesswoman, and she wants to use that strength to help raise money for kids’ programs.
“What makes the thrift shop different from other businesses is that everything is a gift,” Romo said. “There is not the fine line of losing money because everything we can sell on the floor is a profit.”
As a mother of four, Romo knows how to interact with children when they visit Operation School Bell. Once a month, Romo accompanies children and helps them select clothes. For many kids, it’s the first time they’ve shopped for themselves.
“They leave here with the biggest smiles you have ever seen,” she said. “I love what I do at the thrift shop because I know the money will help them.”
On an average day at the thrift shop, Romo is always around working on something.
The doorbell rings and she goes to the back room to take more donations.
Customers walk in and she greets them, providing suggestions for the shoppers.
For Elise Bell, 2, the toy section of the shop is a “must stop” every time when she and her grandma visit.
“This is a very friendly place,” said Linda Bell, a regular customer. “It’s nice to feel warm inside when you’re spending your money.”
Bell was looking at little dresses Romo brought over for Elise.
“When they leave the store with something they like, I’m really happy,” Romo said. “I feel I’ve done something good for the community.”
The Assistance League thrift shop, 5107 Evergreen Way in Everett, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Donations can be dropped off from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 425-252-3011, ext. 102.
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