Meet Jill and Rick, Tuesday and Saturday volunteers at the donation door. Hear in Jill’s words who they are, what they enjoy, and what a day volunteering at New 2 You looks like.

“Rick grew up in Niles, and I grew up in Kalamazoo. We both started working in the insurance industry here in Grand Rapids and actually began our jobs on the same day, though we didn’t meet until several years later. Rick and I eventually married and have built our life together here. Rick has one son, Kyle, and we have two grandchildren who live in Florida. We visit them as often as possible.

Outside of volunteering at New 2 You, we keep busy through traveling, looking for thrift stores to explore, doing puzzles together, and reading. We also like to stream foreign language mystery series, especially Norwegian mysteries!

We were made aware of New 2 You about a decade ago through my parents who volunteered here and talked about it all the time. My mom worked in the artwork department, and my dad worked in the electronics department and cashiered. When I first started volunteering, my mom wasn’t able to continue, but I came with my dad. At that time, I was cashiering once a week, and it grew from there. That was almost ten years ago.

After Rick retired a year and a half ago, he started working at New 2 You on a regular basis, too. Now we volunteer together at the donation door once a week and a couple Saturdays per month. We are also part of the Pack-and-Pickup crew, which is a packing service for Holland Home residents where donations get brought to New 2 You. It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding.

We’ve seen New 2 You change a lot over the years. It has become much more popular with the public thanks to great marketing and customers coming back with their friends. Volunteers enjoy working at the store and many have worked here for decades—some even since New 2 You started in 2004! It’s a great place to work, we feel appreciated, and we have wonderful, creative leaders who are always thinking of ways to improve store operations.

Our favorite task is working at the donation door. We enjoy greeting our donors and hearing about their items. We hear a lot of stories! We are amazed at the things we see that come through the door every time we work. It’s so interesting! That’s why there’s no “typical” day at New 2 You—you never know what will be donated.

More than anything, we look forward to seeing coworkers at the store when we go in to volunteer. It’s great to form those relationships and learn about these folks and their families. We have a lot of fun.”

Thank you so much, Rick and Jill, for your ongoing commitment to New 2 You and for sharing your story!