Media Relations

November 26, 2009

As reported by Pat Schneider in The Capital Times

The economic recession is registering at local thrift stores. Administrators of these emporiums of recycled goods report brisk business as shoppers on tight budgets look for bargains. “Sales are up. We’re doing very well,” says Kathleen Mannlein, director of retail sales for Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, Executive Director Ralph Middlecamp reports that the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Madison is “just holding our own” with its thrift stores. The customers are coming, but the supply of donated merchandise is not as good as it has been in better economic times, he says. “People are not buying new things and it limits what we have to offer in our stores. We’re putting out things that are not quite as good as customers are used to. We can’t sell them for as much.”

Resale stores of all kinds attract shoppers trying to make ends meet, as well as those with a taste for bargains. Beyond that, Dane County’s dozen thrift shops offer customers a dual opportunity to support nonprofit organizations: revenues from thrift stores fund the missions of the charities, and tax-deductible, donated merchandise stocks the stores. Some also say that shopping thrift stores is an act of protest against the consumer culture.

Many charitable organizations rely on end-of-year donations for a significant part of their funding. Thrift stores, too, do well at the end of the year, starting with shoppers looking for the makings of a Halloween costume right through holiday decorations and Christmas gifts.

“Last month was our best month ever,” says Alice Hanson, manager of Bethesda House of Thrift on Madison’s east side. She thinks her store, which moved three years ago to Cottage Grove Road after two decades on the north side, is seeing first-time thrift shoppers adjusting to drops in income. “If there were two workers in the family, and they’re down to one, they’re looking to save money.”

Thrift stores typically offer such basic goods as clothes, furniture and housewares, as well as books, vinyl albums and CDs. Many shoppers interviewed in store aisles recently say they have shopped thrift stores for years, but some add they are doing it more often during the down economy.

“I’m doing it this year a bit more,” says Leanne Carson of Madison, shopping for Christmas decorations at the Goodwill Store in Nakoma Plaza on the west side. Medical bills put her family in debt and she is cutting costs wherever she can, she says.

Carson says the merchandise in the store this season looks good, but she can appreciate that some stores might be reporting a drop in donated goods. “I’d think twice about donating a couch this year. I’d put it on craigslist and get the few extra bucks.”

At St. Vincent de Paul’s flagship thrift store on Williamson Street, Linda Kingsley says she bought the jeans and sweater she was wearing on a past shopping trip there. She has shopped at the store for years, but even more in recent months. “The jobs closed up and I’m only working part time,” she says. “I’m just barely making it.”

Strong sales are important to the nonprofit organizations that run the thrift stores because they are a significant source of revenue.

Judy Purcell, manager of the HospiceCare Thrift Store on Junction Road, said sales rose 15 percent to 20 percent as the jobless rate soared about six months ago and have stayed high. The store, in its fourth year, provides about $400,000 a year to support patient and family care by HospiceCare Inc.

About 70 percent of Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin’s $11.5 million in revenue in 2008 came from its eight area stores. The organization serves the disabled and elderly in 14 counties. “We’re very much reliant on the retail revenue,” says Mannlein. “We can’t do our work without it.”

St. Vincent de Paul of Madison nets about $500,000 a year from its five Dane County stores to support its food pantry — the county’s busiest — and other programs for the needy. The agency also gives thrift store merchandise like clothing, furniture and housewares to people who don’t have money to buy such goods. And that demand has spiked in the past year. “We’ve given away more than ever before,” Middlecamp says.

In order for donors to take income tax deductions for their gifts to thrift shops, the store must be run by a 501(c)3 charitable organization like Goodwill, St. Vincent’s, HospiceCare or Bethesda Lutheran Communities for the developmentally disabled.

Door Creek Church of Madison runs a thrift shop, Boomerangs, and will use its revenue to support the work of the Salvation Army of Dane County, The Road Home and Nehemiah Corp., three local charities tied to faith communities. “We were looking for a new way to raise funds to distribute to organizations in the community,” says Randy Olson, director of outreach for Door Creek Church. The store has been open just over a year, and has not yet cleared operating costs sufficiently to make a donation, Olson says.

Madison has two for-profit thrift stores — at West Towne Mall and near East Towne Mall — operated by Savers, a multinational retailer of used goods. Savers purchases donated merchandise from local charities, allowing donors to take a tax deduction and providing an added incentive for people to shop at its stores. In Madison, its stores partner with Easter Seals of Wisconsin, which expects to bring in about $200,000 from its sales to Savers this year, according to Easter Seals Executive Vice President Nance Roepke.

Ken Halstead of Richland Center loves books, which is why he was perusing the shelves at Goodwill in Nakoma Plaza, where he found some non-fiction titles at very low prices. Halstead loves getting a good deal on good books.

He used to hesitate about using thrift stores, he says, because it felt like by getting a bargain he was taking something from someone who needed it more. “That’s not true,” Halstead says today. “It supports charitable efforts. It’s green. So ethically I like it. Now, whether it’s good for an economy of debt and waste …”

So to his thinking, the countercultural aspect of shopping thrift stores makes it a win for everyone.

HospiceCare offers practical advice for dealing with grief during the holidays.

Read about it in the Janesville Messenger.

WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee
As reported by Shamane Mills, WHA/WERN-Madison

A report shows the time patients spend in hospice care is far less than Medicare will pay for. Some say it's so short that patients don't get the full benefits from this end-of-life care.

Hospice care is designed to ease pain and provide emotional support for those who are dying. The average stay nationally is less than 30 days and a report by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization indicates more than a third of patients die or are discharged in less than a week.

The director of Access for HospiceCare in Madison, Lisa Sherven, says that's not enough time to adequately support and prepare the dying patient and their family. She says less than a week to provide hospice care is really crisis management.

One factor cited by physicians, for short hospice stays, is a family's desire to keep a dying relative alive because they don't know the patient's wishes.

Advance directives are a way to do that and the House health reform bill would reimburse doctors who discuss what kind of end of life care patients want.

Sherven says they've reached out to doctors and the public about the need to plan ahead. And in the last three years, the agency has seen improvement. More hospice patients are alive longer.

She says the average length of stay for hospice patients in Dane and Rock Counties is about 70 days, compared to the national average of 30 days.

Medicare pays for up to six months of hospice care.

November 4, 2009

As reported by Shelly Birkelo in the Janesville Gazette 

If the 2009 holidays will be the first without your loved one, the season might bring more sadness than joy.

Getting into the holiday spirit after losing a loved one can be especially painful for those who are grieving, said Gordon Lynch, HospiceCare grief counselor.

“When people lose someone they have a history of traditions with, it’s often difficult to celebrate because it can bring up those memories and the pain of the loss,’’ he said.

That’s why HospiceCare is offering a Holiday Grief and Remembrance seminar with time for questions and answers Tuesday, Nov. 10, at its Janesville office.

The first year when a person loses someone is the most difficult, Lynch said.

“When that person is not there, there’s a void,’’ he said.

So people have to work through those feelings regarding their lost loved one, Lynch said.

To cope with the loss, he said, there should be structure to the day along with realistic expectations.

“Have plans ahead of time, accept feelings and process them, and attend whatever functions you feel comfortable with,’’ Lynch said.

Another coping strategy is to create a memorial or ritual, Lynch said, that can take on all different forms. That might include giving money to charity in memory of your loved one, lighting a candle for that special person or making an ornament or quilt in their memory.

Talking about a loved one and sharing stories also can be helpful, Lynch said.

“It’s really unique to the individual and what they want to do to provide some memorial to their loved one,” he said.

It’s also important people take care of themselves by getting enough rest and eating well. They also need to have friends and family close to them who understand what they’re going through and are supportive, Lynch said.

“Take one day at a time to make it through the holidays,” he said. “Keep things simple and know your limits.”

In addition, support groups are listed on www.hospicecareinc.com that are open to the public, Lynch said.

HospiceCare also offers a holiday remembrance program, which will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at St. William Catholic Church. The program is open to the community and its patient families for support. It will feature readings, songs and people coming together and remembering their loved ones.