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Community Corner

For the Greater Goods

East Windsor thrift store helps the needy by selling clothes, toys and books at affordable prices.

Greater Goods Thrift Store, a program of the community service partnership Rise, helps needy families within the area of Hightstown and East Windsor by selling gently used clothing and household items from donations and using the proceeds to purchase food and lend other assistance.

Maria Silverio, the store’s general manager, is the only salaried worker at the shop and began working when it opened about three years ago. She said she likes the idea of the community members helping lower-income families in their area, as it is very self-sustaining.

“It’s a great (operation),” she said. “We help the community and they help us.”

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The store accepts donations during its regular operating hours, which are Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store receives donations every day, averaging about 10 boxes each day.

While the store contains everything from house wares and televisions to VHS tapes, Silverio said clothes, toys and books are among the most common items donated.

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Silverio prices the clothing so that it is affordable for the community, generally charging $10 for suits, $5 for dresses and $7 for handbags. Any clothing found damaged or in poor condition is recycled by Millennium, Silverio said.

“We don’t throw anything in the garbage here,” she said.

Although Silverio manages the shop and files tax receipts, she has help from a lot of different volunteers. Sometimes groups come in to fulfill community service goals like summer camps. High school students also volunteer, but there are also the regular volunteers like the ones working this past Saturday, Patricia Sikorski and Manny Peil.

“I come down and volunteer here whenever I have a spare minute or two,” said Sikorski, who is retired. “I try to organize and get everything out so we can have it sold.”

Peil, a retired teacher, said he was involved in social services since college and decided to continue after retiring. 

“I’m all about doing and not talking (about doing),” he said. “It’s all about impact. I believe you should put your money where your mouth is, which I’m doing right here in town.”

While the proceeds from the store buy food or pay for a low-income family’s rent for a few months, the shop also donates clothing to people in the community who might not be able to afford it themselves.

The shop, located in downtown Hightstown at 114 Rogers Ave., not only serves the East Windsor and Hightstown community but also Twin Rivers and Cranbury, and is always looking for more volunteers.

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