Servant’s Heart of Mint Hill cherishes volunteers

MINT HILL – Servant’s Heart of Mint Hill operates a Community Boutique that is known for offering high quality secondhand items at competitive prices. It’s the efforts of 72 volunteers who perform a wide variety of tasks that keep the boutique running. 

It all starts in the back with volunteer donation intake attendants who work every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  

“Some people ask, ‘Why can’t I just bring my donations anytime?’” said Kim Rhodarmer, founder and executive director. “It’s because we have volunteers positioned on those days – rain, sleet, snow or blazing sun – to help receive the donations and begin the sorting process before they make their way into the building or to another place.”

Walking in the front door, one might assume clothing is its main source of revenue, but it’s actually the home goods in the back of the store.  

From plugging in toasters and irons to make sure they work to spot cleaning crystal, pots and pans, Debbie DiCicco is one of the volunteers who ensures the Community Boutique is stocked with quality home goods.

For DiCicco, volunteering at Servant’s Heart is “like Christmas every morning, coming in and seeing what’s on the shelf or what we’re getting next!”  

She enjoys getting to know her customers, helping them find things, and ultimately, building community through repurposing donated items.

Other volunteers use specialized knowledge to inspect and price high-end items like jewelry and designer purses.  

“When we get jewelry donated, volunteers go through and check for stamps, marks, any indication that it might be higher quality,” Boutique Manager Billie McIntosh said. “We have a volunteer from Perry’s Jewelry who takes that jewelry and lets us know if we have something special and the price we can charge for it.”

McIntosh said another volunteer comes in once a week to replace watch batteries, evaluate high-end watches or make minor repairs at no charge. 

Servant’s Heart’s Community Boutique is a self-funding feature of Servant’s Heart Assistance Programs, meaning that both donating and shopping supports the nonprofit’s mission to help families who are struggling financially. Revenue from the store supports Servant’s Heart’s assistance programs as well as day-to-day operations.

It’s sharing in Servant’s Heart’s mission that motivates many of the volunteers, like “book guy” Andy Peters, who has been volunteering at Servant’s Heart since 2019.   

“When you see all the different stuff over there,” said Peters, gesturing to the Servant’s Heart’s emergency food pantry and nonfood pantry, “you know that good things are going to happen from the money we bring in.  Making the whole thing happen – that’s the rewarding part.”

The Community Boutique and the work Servant’s Heart does in the community wouldn’t be possible without its volunteers. 

“I’ve said for years that if our volunteers didn’t show up, we couldn’t open our doors,” Rhodarmer said.  “Our volunteers know the daily work that must happen for our doors to be open.  They know details that others don't know. The scope of work and responsibility our volunteers embrace makes them invaluable to us and our community.  I am humbled by the number of our volunteers who not only donate their time but also financially contribute to our mission.” 

Want to help?

Servant’s Heart is always looking for more volunteers to join the team. Email cb@servantsheart.org for more information. Servant’s Heart Community Boutique is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 9229 Lawyers Road.