Store’s volunteers create a space for hope

Record Photo by Ruby Thomas
Pat Hash, left, and Charlene Hughes, volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul C & S Mission Store, looked over the new fall products for sale at the Campbellsville, Ky., store Oct. 11. The women, both in their 80s, have served at the store for more than 20 years.

By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. —The St. Vincent de Paul C & S Mission Store in Campbellsville, Ky., is filled with used clothing, furniture and household items. But many in the community have learned the store has something more to offer — hope.

The store — a ministry of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church — is operated entirely by volunteers, most of whom are members of the parish.

The store’s mission statement, “God’s People Serving God’s People,” is prominently displayed on the back wall under which hangs a crucifix. The store exists to “enable people to improve their lives” and get them to a better place, said Fred Schuhmann, one of the store’s managers.  Sometimes all a person needs is a “one-time help” that gets them out of a crisis and makes them “whole” again, Schuhmann said in an interview at the Taylor County store Oct. 11.

The store has been around since the early 1980s and was relocated from an old building to a new one on in February, said Schuhmann.

The old store was divided into several rooms, which kept customers and volunteer storekeepers separated and made interaction difficult, he said. The new store is energy efficient, brightly lit and has an open floor plan, which makes shopping and interactions easier.

The C & S Mission Store works in partnership with Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Green River Ministries and Campbellsville Christian Church. And all the store’s proceeds benefit its mission of lifting up the needy.

Schuhmann said the store helps individuals in crisis pay for electric and gas bills as well as rent. The people who come to the store seeking that type of help are usually referred from the Green River Ministries office, where they go through a screening process, he said.

Some, however, just walk into the store asking for help, he noted. Some need assistance with clothing and household items following house fires or flooding. Schuhmann said he and the other volunteers use their discretion to do whatever they can to help.

The store also partners with the local school system to identify needy families who will receive gift cards for holiday meals.

The C & S Mission Store donates unsold items to the United Methodist Mountain Missions to help with their min-

istry to the needy in Appalachia.

Schuhmann believes the volunteers and their dedication make the store special.

Over the years, people who come to the store to shop or to seek assistance have come to know and love the volunteers, said Therese Richerson who is another of the store’s managers. Therese Richerson and her husband Jim Richerson are in their fourth year of formation for the diaconate in the Archdiocese of Louisville and both volunteer at the store.

Several volunteers — like 86-year-old Pat Hash and 81-year-old Charlene Hughes — have been serving for more than 20 years. Hash and Hughes both retired from the Fruit of the Loom plant in Campbellsville after about 20 years of work. Both women started serving at the store shortly after retirement.

Hughes is still a regular volunteer. Health reasons have caused Hash to take on less of a role, but she still helps out when needed.

Hughes, a mother of 10 children, said the C & S Mission Store is a “wonderful place to work.”

“The people you work with are good people and I’ve enjoyed being around them,” she said in an interview at the store Oct. 11.

Hash said she feels the same way.

“I enjoyed the work and being with the people,” said the mother of six. “Thank God I was able to be here
and help when I could.”

Therese Richerson said Hughes and Hash have the “gift of serving” and that they’ve been an “inspiration” to the other volunteers.

“They push on and keep going. They come in even when they don’t feel like physically being here,” Richerson said.

Over the years Hash and Hughes have had “lots of good laughs” and many stories to tell. “The ladies have a ball,” added Therese Richierson.

Tom Lyons and Bobby Price are two other volunteers who have served at the store for many years. Lyons, a designer and wood-worker, was instrumental in helping an architect design the layout for the new building.

Price — who has served since the store opened more than three decades ago — said he’s seen how many people the store has helped through the years.

The fact that the majority of people in Campbellsville aren’t Catholic never mattered, said Price. That’s why he’s served for so long, he said.

Schuhmann said the mission store aims to pay off the new building loan by February, which will free about $8,000 a month to expand its services, said Schuhmann. This money would be used to serve more of the needy in the community, he said.

To learn more about the St. Vincent de Paul C & S Mission Store, visit the store’s facebook page.

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