By Brian Larsen of The Cook County News Herald - February 16, 2018

Broad smiles and lots of applause were the order of the day when Cook County Senior Center Director Bev Green announced the name of a church or a nonprofit organization and asked for a representative of that group to come forward and receive a check from the First & Second Thrift Store.

With a record $79,792.13 to distribute, Friday, Feb. 9 was an especially big day for 34 groups who received donations at the Senior Center.

Since its inception in 2007, more than half a million dollars ($510,959.70) has been raised through sales of donated merchandise and clothes and given back to the community. Last year a little more than $73,000 was distributed to 38 organizations.

Volunteer hours totaled a staggering 4,559.55 for 2017 with an hourly payout of $17.50. Volunteers direct their “earnings” to whatever church, charity, club, school or nonprofit they desire, as long as the donation stays in the county.

The number one place that received the most volunteer hours, and therefore was given the most money, was the Senior Center, which received a whopping $17,715.25. 

Other big recipients were the Grand Marais Playhouse, $10,434.38; Bethlehem Lutheran Church, $6,846.88; Cook County Food Shelf, $5,744.38; Arrowhead Animal Rescue, $4,860.63; St. John’s Catholic Church, $4,291.88; The Violence Prevention Center, $4,090.63; Cook County Tennis Association, $3,950.63; Great Expectations Foundation, $3,850; Care Partners, $2,690.63; Evangelical Free Church, $2,611.88; Cook County ISD 166 School Foundation, $1,465.63; Cornerstone Community Church, $1,273.13; Library Friends, $1,093.75; WTIP Radio, $870.63; Cook County Higher Education, $774.38; Sawtooth Elementary, $730.63; and the Salvation Army, $726.25, to name a few of the recipients.

Gerry Grant, a board member, read a letter from Lois Johnson, who helped found 1st & 2nd. Johnson, who is now living in Arizona, praised the group of volunteers for making this organization a continued and growing success.

As far as Grant, she said, “1st and 2nd Thrift Store is a win-win-win-win organization. Donors can clean their closets and attics, knowing that their good, clean things will be reused. Shoppers get good quality items at affordable prices. Volunteers can turn their time into money for their favorite charities. Finally, money raised by the Thrift Store is given annually to nonprofit organizations in Cook County.”

If you would like to learn more about how to become a volunteer at First and Second Thrift Store, which is located at 211 E. Highway 61 in Grand Marais, stop in or call (218) 376-1826.