Give Archives %- – Rock The Wrinkle

The season of giving is upon us, and with it, many opportunities to be overwhelmed, depressed, and caught in countless traffic jams. As we get older it’s a little easier to understand Ebenezer Scrooge’s mood with all the frenzy that is happening around us. Or if we’re alone or far from family, it can feel very lonely.

A surefire way to turn this around: help someone. Give your time, your talent, and your wisdom to make a difference in someone else’s life.

It really isn’t that hard to do and it could be the greatest gift you ever give—or receive.

But what can I do, you say? You’re retired, it’s been years since you’ve been in the workplace, and you really don’t think you have any skills anyone can use.

Say that to Tom Frazier, director of Blues City Thrift in Memphis, Tennessee, and he’ll tell you otherwise. Just a few years ago, Tom’s days were filled with hard drives, software upgrades, and his customers who were often in frantic need of his company’s computer maintenance genius. (I was one of them.)

Then after moving on from that business and taking a few months off, Tom found himself without a next step—and he didn’t like it.

“My mantra for years has been that retirement is not necessarily a good thing, but change is,” says Tom. “ I’ve always felt change is as good as a vacation. I realized that I had forgotten that—so I made some changes.” This included volunteering to pick up and drive Veterans needing to visit the local Veterans Hospital. He also volunteered with an urban farmers market in Binghampton, a Memphis neighborhood.

But then along came an opportunity that Tom didn’t expect, but which gave him an opportunity to use his managerial skills and his desire to be of service to others—creating a nice, neat, quality thrift store where the proceeds go to help other Memphis charities.

In other words, a business that makes money to give to charities…hence the store’s tagline, “Thrifty Goods for a Greater Good.”

Tom started working with Blues City Thrift before it even had a location…as a part-time employee driving a large truck to pick up donated items and deliver them to donated warehouse space. “That was a humbling experience for me,” he says. Fast-forward to today’s Blues City Thrift…almost 13,000 clean and well-arranged square feet holding a range of items for sale. The store employs a few individuals who have had trouble finding work elsewhere, and also has several volunteers.

“I really enjoy coming into contact with many people I might never have met, people who are definitely struggling or just want to make their dollars stretch more. Maybe they need a $10 suit for an interview. Or they’d like their house to look nicer but they can’t afford a big department store. Blues City Thrift is nice, neat, well-lit and organized…and you can still get a pair of $2.99 jeans.”

Tom isn’t new to helping others. His past includes serving as a missionary on a voyage bringing books to schools in over 40 underdeveloped countries in Africa and Asia. He still finds being of service uplifting and energizing.

“At Blues City Thrift, we are sometimes offered items that we can’t accept, because our standards are too high. In those cases, we give dozens of bags of items to ministries all over town who serve the homeless. We recycle everything. The work is challenging and never boring…I enjoy it so much I hate to take a day off!”

For a person who is still employed full-time, donating several hours a week to a charity or organization may not be possible. But like Tom says, if someone is feeling left out, just sitting at home all day, watching television, surfing the web, trying to figure out what to do with empty hours…there are so many agencies and charities that need a person’s time and talent.

Everyone has a skill. That’s what we boomers are known for!

Maybe you know bookkeeping. How to arrange a shelf. You might excel at greeting people with a smile. Stacking a box or two. Pouring cups of coffee. Doing inventory. Helping someone get to the doctor. Several hours a week, a few hours on Saturday, whatever your schedule allows. As Tom says, it’s so important and humanizing to lend a hand to people who are having a hard time at the moment…and anybody can do it.

Don’t think you are too old, or too out of touch, or too set in your ways. I think nothing energizes us like getting out of ourselves and getting into helping another.

And research tells us helping others is good for us.

Studies have linked helping others to a decreased mortality risk, especially when there is a social connection involved. It begins a “cycle” of giving that continues in you. Generosity is a key factor in a happy marriage. Simply put, helping others feels good…and it’s good for your health.

“I kind of backed into this opportunity,” says Tom. “I had never even been in a thrift store, and now I love what I am doing. My wife, Sandra, is working here as well, so we’re together every day. In fact, we’re more in love than ever.” Tom, who is turning 64 this month, also recently produced a CD of songs he’s been writing since the 1970s. “Funny what you can still do!”

So give it a thought. Tis’ the season to give. Maybe there’s a part of you that would make a tremendous gift for someone else. Maybe in 2015 you decide you’re going to spend a few hours outside your comfort zone making a difference. Just imagine what you could receive!