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Visiting Nurses Thrift Store, an organization based on giving, has been helping Lewis County and neighboring counties for decades by raising funds for home health and hospice care organizations. With each donation received by citizens of Centralia and Chehalis, Visiting Nurses is improving the quality of seniors’ lives. When the cost of living is so high and medical equipment is out of reach for some elderly and disabled, Visiting Nurses profits go toward in-home care, wheelchairs, canes, crutches and much more.

home carpet warehouseI sat down with Jenny Collins, the executive director of the Visiting Nurses Foundation, to talk about the work they do.

A portion of the profits goes toward administration expenses and staff salaries. The remainder and 100 percent of all fundraisers, donations and memorials go to medical care for a multitude of situations. The foundation decides a goal for each program that they must raise money for, whether it be for different therapy programs, hospice care, or a variety of other avenues in which they help the community.

Money also goes toward their medical equipment bank where they loan out equipment for the elderly or disabled. This significantly helps those in need, saving them money and giving them the opportunity to have independence. One such story particularly touched Collins.

Visiting Nurses Thrift Store
Visiting Nurses Thrift stores are stocked full of clothes, shoes, antiques and special items.

“Two years ago, we started the medical equipment bank and there was a woman in a wheelchair, filling out paperwork at the table. I asked her, ‘How may I help you?’ She told me how she had to get surgery on her hips and couldn’t leave her house for several months until then. We found her a wheelchair, which gave her less anxiety and depression and more freedom, and she was there because she appreciated the help so much that she wanted to pass on the good will. It’s a small, but it’s not so small, ya know?”

Collins says, at any other place, a person in need of such medical equipment would have to wait over eight months and would have to pay an enormous amount of money, if insurance couldn’t cover it. With their medical equipment bank, they’re able to serve a multitude of cases quickly and without expense. It’s a great necessity to those in need with health issues.

The Visiting Nurses Foundation has raised more than $2 million in funding for needs in the community. This money goes toward the medical equipment bank as well as a multitude of therapy programs, including music and sound therapy, massage, healing touch and reiki, and even pet therapy. These funds also go toward hospice care, respite relief for the family and primary caregivers in need of time off for appointments or breaks, education in use of medications and equipment to patients and family, and grief counseling.

Centralia Store
The Centralia location is the first and largest store from Visiting Nurse’s.

Visiting Nurses has come up with a creative way to raise funds, setting up a display in front of every store for customers to bid on in a silent auction. The store manager plans each theme a year in advance, the store saves for months, and the display is changed every six weeks. The money from each winning bid goes to the previously mentioned programs.

On speaking with the staff at each location about what they liked best about working for Visiting Nurses, the same answer came up repeatedly – the people. Yvonne McLernan, who’s worked for the medical bank for five years now, says she works for a “very nice group of people. They’re laid back and it’s a nice work environment.”

Chuck Aching has been working for the business for almost three years doing everything from maintenance to driving the donation truck, but was previously a truck driver for over 40 years. “People are the best part of working here. Everyone treats each other like family. Everybody watches out for one another and has fantastic personalities.” The foundation has impacted him so greatly he reconsidered going back to trucking. “When I first got here, I was really rough around the edges. I used…colorful language,” he chuckled. “This place settled me down.”

Shauna Lowther has been with the foundation for six years and enjoys working with customers best. “I’m more customer oriented. I also like that we are able to help those who come here because they can’t afford new stuff.”

Market Street Display
The Market Street store’s display this month features wall-to-wall artwork up for auction.

Christina Jensen has only been working for the store for four months thus far, but it’s especially impacted her. She believes the customers and employers are the best part about working there. “I’m not a people person,” Jensen admitted. “But this place opened me up with communication and I have an awesome boss.”

Though services and help primarily go to Lewis County residents, Visiting Nurses has services to Thurston, Jefferson, Clallam, Mason, Grant, Adams and Lincoln counties, so their helping hands stretch far. Their medical equipment banks are in Centralia, Chehalis and Moses Lake, the latter being where they plan on creating a fourth store.

Collins wants to emphasize that anyone can help them help others. “Donate to the thrift store, donate medical equipment, volunteer at the banks, or simply shop.” It’s easy to do with two locations in Chehalis and one in Centralia.

If you’d like to stop by, the Centralia store is located at 222 S Pearl Street and the Chehalis store is at 435 Chehalis NW Avenue. You can also read more about the organization and thrift stores online.

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