Members of the Buccaneers Student Advisory Board helped sort items for the Simply Spring thrift store on Saturday morning
While many of their peers were sleeping in or watching Saturday morning television, members of the Buccaneers Student Advisory Board were hard at work. The high school sophomores, juniors and seniors spent their morning last Saturday lending a helping hand at the Simply Spring thrift store.
Simply Spring, located at 209 N. Willow Ave., serves as a major source of financial support for The Spring, a center focused on issues of domestic violence. The mission of The Spring is to prevent domestic violence, protect victims of domestic violence and promote change in lives, families and communities.
Simply Spring is a typical thrift store, selling items ranging from clothing to books to household items. The SAB members spent their time in the warehouse, helping to sort donated items and prepare them for sale in the store.
Henry Calimano, Warehouse Coordinator for The Spring, was happy to see so many volunteers in the warehouse.
"We would like to see volunteers in here more often," Calimano said. "Whenever we get them we are very appreciative of that."
In addition to providing items for the thrift store, the Simply Spring warehouse also boxes up items, mainly clothes and electronics, to be sent to remote parts of Honduras. The items are sold to people in Honduras who do not have the means to travel to bigger cities where shopping is available.
SAB member Russel Weich, a junior at Land O'Lakes High School, worked in the warehouse on Saturday. While representing the Buccaneers Student Advisory Board, Weich also gained community service hours in his work toward receiving a Florida academic scholarship.
Sorting through the vast array of items donated to the Simply Spring thrift store gave Weich an understanding of people who rely on places such as The Spring for help.
"I learned that not everybody is as fortunate as we are, so it's good to help those who need it," Weich said.
For more information on The Spring, please visit www.thespring.org. To volunteer at the Simply Spring warehouse, please contact Allison Legros, General Manager of the thrift store, at 813.258.1185.
