It's here!

Each year we put together a newspaper full of photos & stories to tell the community who we are and what we do.
Our new edition IS HERE!
You can view (and share!) it online and be sure to pick up your free copy at Common Things Thrift Store.                    
It's a special year for us as we begin our 10th year of service feeding local families in need. The newspaper not only contains the stories of some of the folks we've helped recently, but allows some of our amazing volunteers a chance to share their stories, too.
Give it a read and let us know what you think ... what can we improve for next year?
Email suggestions to keith@thecommonplace.org.

Common Things: More than just a good deal!

Do you know the real story behind our thrift store? 

Our customers know that Common Things Thrift Store is a great place to shop.

Most of our new and nearly-new clothing is priced below $2! You can find great bargains on home decor, linens, books, antiques, collectibles, jewelry and much more at well-below market prices. It's a great place to donate your gently-used items too, because all proceeds from Common Things help us feed hungry local families.                                        

But it is so much more than getting a good deal or supporting a great cause. Common Things is often the first introduction local residents have to Common Heart and its programs.

Store Manager Dana Hinson said she's constantly "humbled" by the way volunteers and customers step up to help those in need.

Whether it's praying with a crying grandmother worried about her grandchild in the hospital or gathering clothing and blankets for a homeless resident, Common Things is there to help.

"It's amazing to see that it's not only about faith. It's about the heart of the people who are here," she said.

Common Things is also a training ground for those needing work-based skills.
It offers a variety of opportunities for those who are mentally or physically challenged or rehabilitating into work. The store also provides community service opportunities to local students, businesses, churches & other social programs. Welcoming families to serve together and give back to the community is a characteristic of this vital part of Common Heart. Unlike many organizations, there are no age limits on opportunities.

We could not predict all of what Common Things Thrift Store would become when its doors opened in June 2011. We have grown in size and sales – most notably with our move last year to a much larger space at 321 Indian Trail Road North. We are now able to offer more goods than ever before!

Come find your treasure!                                                                                                      

Students, adults serving together

At Common Heart, student volunteers mix in easily with their adult counterparts. It's not uncommon to see middle, high school or college students packing food boxes or processing thrift store donations with volunteers who are old enough to be their parents or grandparents.

And that's just the way community service should look, Executive Director Keith Adams said.

“We like seeing different generations serving together. It really helps emphasize our mission of creating a community – from students to seniors and everyone in between – that cares about serving our neighbors in need,” he said. “We are a community serving together to 'encourage a small revolution of kindness.'”                                             

Many schools require community service hours and those can be achieved by volunteering at Common Heart, which provides proof of hours served. We also help local students and young adults who are required to perform community service hours to satisfy a court sentence for minor charges.

Helping with that effort is Project Challenge, of Monroe, which regularly provides volunteers for our Common Cupboard at Mill Grove Monday night pantry in Hemby Bridge.  

Food drive fun!

 3,000 pounds of food! 

That's our goal for the amount of food we'd like to collect at each of our two upcoming Harris Teeter food drives on Oct. 3 & Oct. 24! We're hoping to stock our food shelves and also collect many of the nonperishables we'll need for our annual Great Turkey Countdown. (Think corn, green beans, stuffing, gravy etc.)                                                     

Can you give an hour of your time to help? 

We've got one-hour volunteer slots from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Harris Teeter in the Shops at Sun Valley in Indian Trail and on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Harris Teeter in Wesley Chapel.

To sign up to serve Oct. 3, click here:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4faeaa2da20-sunvalley

To sign up to serve Oct. 24, click here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4faeaa2da20-wesley