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By Mary I. Coombs December 16. 2014 12:56PM 'HUB' serves shoppers — and a good cause Karen Smith and Doris Segnes of Hospice Unique Boutique check out the store's offerings. Courtesy photo My students used to hope for the job that would let them “do well while doing good.” The founders of the Hospice Unique Boutique, however, have discovered how to do good while doing good, as I learned when I sat down with two of their board members, Sarah Seybold and Susan Hearn, and the volunteer coordinator,Trudy Duncan. The net proceeds of this high-end resale shop go to support hospice services in Ashland and throughout the Rogue Valley, as well as other nonprofit services related to end-of-life situations, while the store itself serves as a source of gently used quality goods for shoppers. The boutique (or “HUB”) opened in June 2009. Apart from two managers, it runs entirely on volunteer power. Those volunteers carry out all the tasks needed to run a retail business. Receivers work in the back room accepting those donations that are likely to sell — clothing, housewares, jewelry art and furnishings in good condition — and channeling other goods, such as appliances or electronics, to appropriate agencies. Accepted goods are then sorted and priced before going to the sales floor. Unseasonal goods (e.g. Christmas sweaters donated in February) are temporarily placed in off-site storage facilities. HUB merchandising team volunteers make special efforts with the arrangement of goods in the store, including the window displays. These are changed frequently and may relate to a special event or be designed to highlight a special array of goods for sale — Ashland’s own version of the window displays along New York’s Fifth Avenue. And, of course, when the store is open, there must be cashiers on hand. Other volunteers help the HUB by using their artistic talents to “repurpose” goods for sale: one volunteer uses the best parts of old linens which may have tears or stains elsewhere to create pillows; some create new jewelry from parts of old jewelry, and still others create “yard art” out of ceramics that have chips or cracks. The HUB isn’t just a place to shop. Many of the volunteers choose to work there because they have a “heart for hospice.” So they are especially sensitive to people who are dealing with end-of-life issues, such as donors who bring in goods that belonged to a loved one who is moving into a nursing facility or who has passed on. One volunteer I spoke with told of how that capacity for empathy played out between a volunteer and a shopper who found the robe that she and her sister had donated after their mother’s death. The donors, the volunteers and the shoppers are a community in support of the community. If you are interested in volunteering, the managers will work to match your skills, interests and time availability to tasks that need to be done. If you are doing work as a receiver or merchandiser or cashier, you will go through a short training and then spend time shadowing an experienced volunteer/mentor before you all agree that you are ready to “fly solo.” And, of course, while Ashland runs on volunteers, the HUB runs on both volunteers and shoppers! For more information you can go to www.hospiceuniqueboutique.org or call the HUB at 541-488-7805 and ask for the volunteer application form. Mary I. Coombs’ column on local nonprofit organizations appears every three weeks. Email questions and suggestions to [email protected].     http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20141216/NEWS/141219860 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->