After readers submitted their nominations for this year’s “Herald Angel,” staffers at the Catholic Herald chose to honor three jointly nominated St. William of York Outreach volunteers.
Take a turn off Route 1 and drive past the brick church. Keep going around the blacktop full of school children at play. When you feel gravel beneath your tires, look ahead. You’ll finally see a cobbled together collection of buildings housing the St. William of York Thrift Store in Stafford. Working in and around the store are three women who have spent years giving back by helping the ministry grow.
Lynda, a slight, bespectacled woman with a humble and kind demeanor, began volunteering at the thrift store in 1989. At the time, there was just the old cream and blue building that serves as a shop on the top floor and a food pantry on the bottom. The proceeds of the thrift shop provide emergency rent, food and utility funds for residents of Stafford County.
As the president, she decides who receives the money. Sometimes the grateful recipients cry with relief, said Lynda, who prefers to use only her first name due to the nature of her role. Sometimes, they stop to shop years later as a way to repay the kindness they’ve received.
Connie Gordon has been a volunteer for 17 years. She has a pragmatic, can-do spirit, short cropped hair and a pink puffer vest to keep her warm as she arranges the items that spill outside of the shop. Her pet project is the Wee Christmas Shop, a rented trailer filled with Christmas decor and a flickering virtual fireplace.
Gloria Cancel, who came about a year later, is a cheery, out-going Hispanic woman who loves organizing the wares and making a sale. When she first arrived, she worried her English wasn’t strong enough. But her bilingual abilities and her cross-cultural savvy as a diplomat’s wife soon served her well in customer relations. Other volunteers cheerfully spout the Spanish phrases she teaches them, such as “regresa pronto,” or “come back soon!”
The women are three of the 38 volunteers who run the thrift shop, the food pantry and financial assistance program collectively called St. William of York Outreach. After years of working together, the three thrift store veterans have an easy camaraderie. They’re quick to tout each other’s accomplishments and contributions, to finish each other’s stories and to laugh over reminiscences, even the more challenging ones.
Lynda remembers learning how to drywall as she and the other volunteers built what is now known as the Kids Shop. The Cave, a structure filled with men’s items, was once a carport.
“We enclosed it after I got bit by the copperhead,” said Connie nonchalantly. “It was a dry bite so I didn’t have to get any anti-venom.”
Their newest addition to the facilities is a faucet, which allows them to clean off some of the dirtier donations. They used to use buckets to catch rainwater. They continue to use the restroom at the neighboring Knights of Columbus Hall. If you really want to do something, not even a lack of running water will stop you, said Gloria.
Connie, Gloria and Lynda like to evangelize while they work. The volunteers all pray the Angelus together at noon, inviting any nearby customers to join. They give away Catholic literature. They try to be patient and loving to the shoppers, said Connie.
It’s hard to know if they’ve inspired any customer or client conversions, but it’s easy to see how the work has helped strengthen their own relationships with Christ. Gloria remembers the days when she would spend lots of money eating out with friends, but would come home unhappy and unfulfilled. When she moved to the area, she knew she had to find more ways to give. Now, “I think I live at the church,” she joked. Connie, who’s often working out in the elements, has learned to accept rain, snow or sunshine. “I’ve come a long way in realizing what God wants is the best,” she said.
When the women look back over their years of service, they treasure the moments they were able to give not just material goods, but a bit of dignity to the person in need. Once, a homeless man came to the shop looking for shoes. Gloria quickly called her husband to bring the shoes he had bought from the store the day before. They gave the man socks, too. She still remembers that he asked permission to throw his old, dirty socks in their dumpster. “The homeless are people,” she said. “We can’t look past them without doing something for them.”
Lynda remembers the time her experience helped her serve. Her father died when she was 13, and her mother used his Social Security benefits to support the family. So when Lynda encountered a woman in the same situation, she made sure the woman applied. “You won’t have to come here for help,” Lynda assured the woman. “She came back a month later and she thanked me so much.”
Connie asks the Holy Spirit to tap her on the shoulder when there’s a customer truly in need. One day, they were selling Christmas bouquets donated by one of the volunteers. An elderly lady was admiring the fresh flowers but quickly turned away when she heard their price. Connie told her to take one anyway. The women shed tears of joy, telling Connie how much her family would love the beautiful blooms.
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