What: Scott & White Hospice Thrift Store

Where: 601 E. Central in Belton

Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Phone: 760-9615

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BELTON - It’s a shopping wonderland - dresses, jackets, shirts and slacks by the thousands, plus lamps, vases and everything else imaginable.

If it exists, it’s probably for sale at the Scott & White Hospice Thrift Store in Belton.

The store’s staff is small, but they are assisted by plenty of volunteers, who are the backbone of the operation, Scott & White Hospice volunteer coordinator and store manager Susan Robison said.

Volunteers and staff sort through donated clothes, switching items from wire hangers to ones made of plastic or wood. There are also hundreds of donated items - teacups to toasters - to price and put on display.

The thrift store has one purpose - to provide funding for Scott & White Hospice, Robison said.

“It’s all about the patient … that’s the bottom line,” she said.

The thrift store staff has to know the hospice mission, Robison said. Most have experienced a death in their family and know what hospice does and what this store does for hospice.

“If you don’t know about hospice, how can you have the passion for this job,” she asked.

Though it’s not part of her job, Robison still finds time to provide respite care for caregivers of Scott & White Hospice clients.

“It keeps me real,” she said.

One caregiver just wanted someone to come to his home to be with the hospice patient so he could mow his front yard, which took about 20 minutes, Robison said. He didn’t feel he could leave the patient alone in the house.

“I drove an hour to get there and he was able to mow his yard,” Robison said. “He was so grateful, but it made my day.”

A mutual admiration society seems to have formed at the thrift store.

“I love the thrift store,” Robison said. “I have an amazing group of people … we’re all like little reindeer pulling in the same direction. These are the hardest working girls in hospice. We all don’t have to love each other every minute of the day, but we work as a team.”

In return, the thrift store staff seems to think highly of the boss.

“She has a heart of gold,” Loretta Weir said of Robison. “She works seven days a week sometimes.”

Dortha Putnam works the register and manages the store when needed. Her husband, Andy, also helps out in any job that crops up, including painting the sign that sits outside the thrift store door.

“He’s our go-to guy when anything needs to be fixed,” Robison said.

Weir has worked as a retail clerk at the store for eight months, first as a volunteer and now as an employee.

Weir’s husband had hospice care from Scott & White, so she’s familiar with the philosophy of hospice

“They did wonders for my husband and for me,” she said.

The thrift store workers, Weir said, are a team. “There is always someone in the group who will step in to pick up the slack,” she said. “We all work together.”

Another employee, Janice Campbell, runs the register, does paperwork, and works with the linens. “I do a little of everything,” Campbell said.

Robison said she’s hoping to have the store open seven days a week beginning in February.

The store does a huge amount of business and being closed Sunday and Monday, just means there’s a build up of donations that must be sorted when the store opens on Tuesday.

Last month, the store did almost $21,000 in business, Robison said.

“That’s a lot of pieces of clothing when it’s priced $5 for 10 items,” she said.

The store has sort of a “cult” following, Robison said. There are people who know they can come in and spend $10 and walk out with a $250 outfit or a $300 dress for $20.

Items that can’t be sold in the thrift store are given to charity and those objects go wherever there’s a disaster in the world.

The store also uses its inventory to help around the community when necessary. A few months ago the store helped clothe 62 Hurricane Ike evacuees, Robinson said.

“They bused them in here and we were able to give them each five changes of clothes,” she said.

Also, a local family that lost everything in an apartment fire showed up in their pajamas and were given clothes so they would have something to wear to work.

The thrift store also recycles.

“Every piece of cardboard is recycled and every piece of metal and every appliance that can’t be sold goes to Temple Iron and Metal,” she said. “We’ve been able to save $100 a week on dumpster costs and all those savings go to help hospice patients.”

Recruiting volunteers for the hospice and the thrift store is ongoing.

Robison said in addition to getting volunteers for the store, she’s always looking for people who will get out into hospice patients’ homes.

“I only have a small group of people for direct patient care,” she said.

Robison said she needs volunteers who speak other languages and people willing to go into a smoker’s house or homes where there are pets.

“I’m needing a whole array of people,” she said. “It’s a big job to cover the many different needs and I hate to say no.”

Some volunteers do clerical work, checking with families to make sure they have all of the supplies and medications they need. Others make bereavement calls to find out how a family member is doing.

For every 15 people who take the volunteer orientation, four or five will stay active, Robison said.

A new volunteer orientation is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 10, at Scott & White West Campus. This meeting is for individuals who are interested in direct patient care with Scott & White Hospice. For information, call 760-9615.

“I was put here to do this,” Robison said of her job. “They may call me a pit bull dog, but this is what I need to do.”

jgibbs@temple-telegram.com