Volunteer Profile: Elise

“I like helping people because I know they need help…[besides] making people happy makes me happy!” Introduce yourself to Elise, a woman who will surely remind you of your favorite aunt. Her smile has been greeting customers who walk into Common Things Thrift Store since last July. Recently, she started volunteering at JB ACTS on Tuesday evenings.

Elise caught wind of Common Heart while she was searching for a job. Finding nothing, she decided to start volunteering. Like 10 percent of Union County’s population, Elise is unemployed. Unlike that 10 percent, she is not discouraged. And she wants to give back.

“A lot of people need help, and I don’t mind. I love doing what I do,” she explained.

Elise occasionally receives groceries from Common Cupboard after she volunteers, and that is what it is all about – friends and neighbors uniting to help each other, to give and receive and to build relationships.