Goodwill and Salvation Army...Why have you forsaken us?

About ten years ago, I really embraced shopping at thrift stores.  At the time, I was covering the city of Chicago for my company and was able to find not only a great variety of Goodwill stores and Salvation Army stores, but independents like, The Find out in La Grange.  These were a sanctuary for me after a busy day of selling.  I would pop in and browse, and more often than not, I would leave with some coveted blazer by Hickey Freeman, or a Brooks Brothers suit, neither of which I would have paid more than a few bucks.  There almost seemed to be a type of chicness to shopping this way.  And as the word spread, I believe, so did the greed.

With the influx of more affluent, or maybe middle class shoppers shopping in these stores, Goodwill and Salvation Army seem to have changed their mission.  They seem to think that if something is worth more new, than it should be worth more used as well.  Now I won't argue that there is some logic in that.  But these are Not For Profit Charitable organizations and these are the same items that five years ago, were considered generic donations and were accepted without question and put on the shelf.  No price checking to see if they could make a few extra bucks. What I question is the motivation behind this change in policy.  Have things changed for the real needy in America?  Have things gotten better to the point that we can all afford to pay more for used and mostly donated clothing items? Or is it an issue from the other side.  Have Goodwill and Salvation Army adopted a policy of paying their workers a better living wage, hence needing to raise prices?  I kind of doubt that one.

Is there a place in the donated or consignment world for higher end clothing to be priced this way?  Absolutely!  It's called Boutique consignment stores, or Plato's Closet.  They exist, and for the people that are looking for that and prefer not to shop at Goodwill or Salvation Army, you have a home.  

If I'm honest, in my case, I can afford to pay more right now.  A year ago...no.  But what about all of the people that depend on these stores for their clothes and household items exclusively?  I often see people shopping there that I know, really don't have a choice.  Why are we penalizing them for the shopping habits of more affluent people?  Even worse in my opinion, is the fact that I see only two solutions.  The first would be that as a people, we stop shopping at these establishments unless we really can't afford to shop elsewhere.  The second would be for these two NOT FOR PROFIT corporations to get back to doing what they used to do best...Charity.

WOW! Has it really been that long?

Hi everybody, and welcome back...or is it you that should welcome me back?  I took a bit of an hiatus to say the least.  Since my time as an elementary school librarian came to a close(December), I have moved on the the wonderful world of text book publishing.  I now spend my days walking the halls of college campuses, trying to find professors that need the text, and the digital solutions, that my company can provide.  Much of my time is spent looking through the windshield of my car if I am being honest.  And even more of it pacing the lonely halls of buildings that were built mostly in the fifties and sixties, looking for the faint light glowing under a heavy oak door.

I do enjoy the position.  I spent the better part of the last two decades working on college campuses, so I feel quite at home.  I think of the campuses much like I think of the elementary school kids I used to work with.  Some are small, some are big, some are fast, some are slow, some are skinny(Budgets) and some not so...but I think I like them all, no matter what type they are.

I am amazed though at the fact that, even on college campuses, there they are...my break even teachers.  At the college level they are a bit harder to spot.  There aren't nearly the amount of hugs on campus with teachers as there are in the elementary school.   With college professors, you see it on the kids faces.  The kid who just got some basic math functions explained to him again, or the kid that just turned in a paper late and was greeted with a "Way to go!", instead of a stern look and a disappointed face.  How about the teacher that dresses in an ape suit on the day of their first exam to break the tension.  Or the teacher that never shuts his door and sits in his office in his bare feet while students work on their homework.

They are out there, friends, I've seen them!  And I hope to report back with many more amazing incidents in the near future.  Until next time, let me know what's going on in your world so I can keep my six readers in the know.