VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Even before Kim Herbert was born, The Salvation Army in Port Jervis, N.Y., had played a significant role in her family’s life.

“My mother Joan had five children before I came along, and my father was a truck driver, so he wasn’t home a lot to help her raise the kids. When their home burned down, things got more difficult,” says Kim.

Joan looked for assistance, but no one offered a hand, not even her family. “She said there was only one group that helped her with everything she needed: the local Salvation Army,” says Kim.

Joan never forgot what The Salvation Army did for her and promised she would repay their kindness. By the time the family had settled into a new home and Kim was born, they were all going to Sunday services and taking part in activities at the Army’s Port Jervis church. Joan also helped drive local children to events in a pick–up truck.

“But my mom’s biggest ministry was volunteering to run the thrift store every Saturday. She did that for over 30 years,” says Kim. “Even though she worked full time and was raising six kids, her Saturdays were always for The Salvation Army. When I was a teen, she would sometimes ask me to open the store for her before she arrived.”

Today, the thrift store is in the building that used to be the church during Kim’s childhood; the new church building is only minutes away. The store is narrow, making it look more like a mom–and–pop antique shop rather than the traditional, spacious Army thrift stores. All the money made goes to fund ministries at the Port Jervis church and the store itself.

“When the Port Jervis Corps opened its new location, we pushed to not have to rent space like we had done before. Instead, we made the old corps into the new store,” says Kim. Five years ago, she accepted a parttime manager position at the store.

“Being at the thrift store never feels like a job. It still feels like I’m volunteering here,” says Kim. “That’s what I tell the staff. Don’t think of this as work. This is a ministry and an outreach to the community. We’re lucky that we can keep the money that we make here, because it helps us help others in the community who need it. For example, we have vouchers on hand for people who might need something in the store, but don’t have a way to pay it. These aren’t folks who are necessarily poor or needy but are just going through a difficult time in their lives, like my family after the fire.”

Kim welcomes anyone who wants to help in the store, inquire about Salvation Army services, or just talk about what’s going on in their lives that day. These personal interactions, she says, are what makes giving her time to The Salvation Army so unique.

“I’ve had people come up to me and ask if I would pray with them in the middle of work, and when they do, I stop whatever I’m doing,” says Kim. “When you volunteer for The Salvation Army, you can take time to get to know the people you help or work with.

“Sometimes a volunteer will want to help but think they can’t because they can’t lift heavy objects or even go up and down the stairs easily. I tell them that they can always take a seat, be comfortable, and prepare store tags for us. That might seem like unimportant work, but in one hour of volunteering, you can do a job at The Salvation Army that an officer or an employee may not have the time to do. I can tell you firsthand how helpful that is.”

Kim says that the lessons that her mother Joan taught her about the importance of volunteering and running a thrift store stay with her to this day. Though the location might have changed, the ministry lives on.

“I think my mother would be amazed to see what the thrift store and The Salvation Army have become,” says Kim. “She would be happy to know that it’s still finding new ways to help families just like hers.”

by HUGO BRAVO