After a shopper left the UCLA Thrift Store with an old white
chair, saying as he left that it would be his guitar chair, he
attempted to squeeze it into a ramshackle Cadillac.
Minutes later, he returned to the store, claiming that the chair
was speckled, and demanded a store credit. The cashier affably gave
it to him.
In another corner of the store, women rummaged through an
extensive collection of clothing, ranging from dresses to pairs of
dress shoes for a dollar.
These are everyday scenes at the UCLA Thrift Store, which sells
a hodgepodge of community-donated items.
“We have everything from Channel to diamonds to Tupperware
to antiques to electronics,” said Susan Pearson, manager of
the store.
The thrift store raises money for the UCLA Medical Center, she
said.
“All the money earned goes to direct patient care and
hospital projects,” said Margaret Churchill, president of the
UCLA Medical Center Auxiliary.
Profits from the Thrift Store and Medical Center gift shop go
directly to the Auxiliary, a board of trustees that donates the
profits to the UCLA Medical Center and decides how the money should
be used.
The Auxiliary will unveil its donated bloodmobile next month in
honor of the its 50th anniversary, said Madelin Grafton, Thrift
Store volunteer and trustee on the Auxiliary.The bloodmobile will
supplement the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center by collecting blood
donations.
Projects like the bloodmobile are made possible due to the
proceeds of the Thrift Store, which has increased sales since last
reported on by the Daily Bruin in 1997, Pearson said.
“We’re doing much better and we’re raising
record numbers,” she said.
Linda Goss, officer of outreach and recruitment for the UCLA
Blood and Platelet Center, said increased sales are the result of
an improvement in the quality of donated items, as well as
strategic selling practices.
There are several major restocking rounds every year: on the
first Saturday of April, August and December.
These are major events, during which people will camp out the
night before just to get a good place in line when the doors open
in the morning. These days generate approximately $50,000 for the
store, Pearson said.
Furthermore, sales have improved following the annexation of a
thrift store across the street about 18 months ago. This smaller
thrift store offers items such as house linens and children’s
toys.
These increases in sales help the Auxiliary provide for programs
like adopt-a-family, which aids underprivileged families and
donates clothes to patients if they cannot afford them after
leaving the hospital.
Sometimes the Auxiliary provides funds for food, toys and even
parties for child patients.