Mitzvah literally translated from Hebrew means commandment but in the Jewish faith this word means a good deed. This does not rely on prayers, wishes, or thoughts but actions of good will, kindness, and empathy. This is a cornerstone of the Jewish faith and one that our dedicated Furniture Volunteer, Mona Gold, holds very near and dear in her day to day life.
Mona’s true passion in life is horticulture and she has used her knowledge of plants and gardening to help others throughout both her professional and volunteer careers. She worked at Friends Hospital for a total of 25 years as the Horticultural Therapist and later was the Director of Rehab and Therapy. She then became the Volunteer Director at The Abramson Center (now Horsham Center) where she ran their Volunteer Program for about 15 years. This is where Mona met her second husband, Les, when he came in to volunteer for the Center. Les is also a C&S Volunteer in the Furniture Shoppe in the electronics room. They have been married for 11 years this August and share a passion for giving back to their community.
She began volunteering at Care & Share shortly after retiring as the Volunteer Director at The Abramson Center. Before she joined our team, she would go to the Outlet to shop for vases that she filled with donated flowers to deliver to hospice patients and seniors that attend the Peak Center for their day program. Mona and Les continue to put together flower arrangements to deliver to seniors in our community. Mona also brings in donated plants to be sold in the Furniture Shoppe and leaves cut flowers “past their prime” in the North Breakroom for other volunteers to take home and enjoy. You have also likely enjoyed some of Mona’s fantastic baking in the North Breakroom as well. Mona is a volunteer with The Garden of Health, a member of the Harleysville Rotary, and an active member in both her and Les’ synagogues. She also serves on the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and is a judge at the annual Flower Show in Philadelphia. And when she and Les travel up to Boston to visit family, she found an organic farm that she can volunteer with and provides educational programs while she is there.
Mona was drawn to volunteer at Care & Share not only because of our mission but also because of the flexibility that we provide to our Volunteers. She loves that she can volunteer here while still taking time for her other activities, volunteer work, and travel. She has always felt welcomed at Care & Share. Thank you Mona for serving with us!
Raikes bears are well-known teddy bears that are made with wooden faces and feet. They are sought after by collectors who appreciate the unique body construction and carved wood. Their creator, Robert Raikes, sold these USA made bears in the 1980s and 1990s and today they can be found in toy collections across the country.
Early in life, Raikes developed the hobby of wood carving, starting with furniture, sculptures, & carousel horses. In the 1970’s, Robert Raikes was commissioned to produce dolls via customer request and this is when he turned his hobby into a career. Raikes dolls weren’t constructed like traditional dolls with fabric & stuffing. Instead, Robert Raikes dolls and bears sported his signature carved wooden faces & feet along with sawdust filled cloth bodies. In the mid 1980s, Robert Raikes & toy company Applause came together for several years through a licensing deal. Raikes dissolved the partnership in the early 1990’s, taking back full ownership of his line of bears. The bears were made in the United States and nearly 40 years later are still highly sought by collectors. Now’s your chance to start your Robert Raikes teddy bear collection, or ANY collection, today with the Care & Share Auction App!
Were you at Care & Share on Tuesday, March 5, when the electricity went out for sixty minutes?
Before noon, the power to the shopping center, and about 225 other customers in the area, was lost due to an electrical fire in the service area. Customers were in the shoppes, our team members were throughout the building, and donors were dropping off their donations.
Our shoppes have emergency lighting which goes on within moments after a power outage. It allows us to carefully but safely navigate people out of the shoppes and work areas. The emergency lighting is primarily battery-operated and will last 45-60 minutes.
When the power goes out, our procedure is to close the shoppes and for team members to make their way to the break rooms. On Tuesday, we achieved this in a fairly organized fashion. The PPL website suggested power would return in three hours, and after about 50 minutes, we sent team members home since the emergency lighting was going out. As Murphy would have it, as the last people were pulling out of the parking lot, the power came back on. We were able to reopen the shoppes at 1:30. Our donation tent never closed, they kept operating throughout!
This event allowed us to assess our response to a power outage. Our first concern is always the safety of our customers, volunteers, and staff. Our workrooms can be difficult to maneuver in diminished lighting, especially with the lack of windows for any outside natural light.
We have decided that going forward, the updated protocol when the power goes out will be to first get the customers out of the shoppes and lock up. Then our staff will guide volunteers to the breakrooms, and everyone will proceed outside to their cars. Team members can wait in their cars until an all clear to return or a decision to close is made. Staff will be sure that all workroom exterior doors are locked.
Thus, if the power goes out and you’re leaving your department to go to the break rooms and exit the building, please take any personal effects with you to avoid the need to return back to workrooms or shoppes prior to the return of power. If you do not have a car or vehicle to sit in, remain in the breakroom and a staff person in charge will collect your information. You should then contact your transportation to alert them as to the possibility the shoppes will close due to a power outage.
It’s very difficult to know when to close or when to wait it out. We will do our best to make the decision based on known facts at the time. We appreciate your assistance in safely clearing the building. Power outages never come at a good time, but we can be ready to react in a responsible way when they do! Thanks for your work with Care & Share.
We are still searching for additional individuals to commit to helping us make our Craft Event happen! Perhaps you would like to lead or assist but the current time does not meet your schedule - let us know! The mission of this fun event is to share a simple craft experience with our community in repurposing items that are donated to Care & Share.
We’ve offered this popular program for well over a year. Most recently, Katie Rowan, Furniture Manager, and Nancy Vogel, Variety Assistant Retail Manager, have led the activities, which occur on the third Monday of each month at 6 PM. We have greatly appreciated their ideas and work in this outreach program. After the April craft evening, they are looking to step down.
We’re asking our volunteer group if any interested people would like to participate in keeping our popular Craft Night moving forward. Here’s the basics:
* Ideally, an evening class, which begins at 6 and generally wraps up between 7 and 7:30. Third Monday of the month. We would be open to discussing other options.
* Upcycle products that we get donated here at C&S. These can be items from any department
* Simple, non-complex crafting projects seem to work best. Many of our participants are coming to have an enjoyable time with others and take home a nice piece they have created.
* A class needs a leader (or two leaders sharing a project); and two volunteers to help the leader. The two volunteers will assist class participants in creating the night’s projects, and would not make the project themselves during the class.
* Near the beginning of the evening, C&S administration will make a brief presentation on the mission and work of Care & Share, and the volunteer opportunities here.
If this sounds like something you would like to lend your hand to, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We would then schedule you for an upcoming class and review your project idea, seeking to gather adequate supplies from incoming donations.
Thank you for your consideration of this opportunity. It’s a fun evening and the community has responded in a very positive way to it. We deeply appreciate any help you can provide!
ABC’s Action News, out of the Philadelphia market, visited Care & Share! They filmed in several of our shoppes and stopped in each of them! They were especially interested in our volunteer workforce, and the commitment to the mission of our organization. CLICK HERE to watch the segment!
Action News devotes a “Philly Proud” segment each week to local ‘doing good’ activities. They heard about our 600+ strong group of committed volunteers and wanted to learn more. The crew was very impressed with the activities they witnessed and our shoppes.
We’re very excited about the recognition that Care & Share is receiving from this news outlet. Public awareness is vital, and also can be very hard to achieve in an affordable way. While we have no ‘artistic input’ on the segment that they ultimately edit and deliver to the TV audience, we know they caught a lot of good film of our great volunteer group doing what we do everyday…processing merchandise, stocking our shoppes, and waiting on customers Thank you Matteo Iadonisi for producing a great piece!
The Souderton Area High School (SAHS) Interact group was here during filming, so we expect to see their teal shirts appearing. The Interact Club is the largest service group at SAHS with over 160 members. Since 2023, this group has volunteered over 700 hours - providing a lot of “people power” in supporting our departments. We are very grateful for the time they give to us as, as well as their enthusiasm for our mission.
ABC’s Action News, out of the Philadelphia market, visited Care & Share! They filmed in several of our shoppes and stopped and shopped in each of them! They were especially interested in our volunteer workforce, and the commitment to the mission of our organization.
CLICK HERE to learn more and watch the segment!
We recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially launch our newly relocated Welcome Center. Located in the middle of the Souderton Shopping Center, the new location is easily accessed by potential and curent volunteers. CLICK HERE to read more!
Shop Care & Share 24/7 - download our Auction App! The Auction App gives customers the opportunity to determine the product price by bidding on selected merchandise.
For Android CLICK HERE
For Apple CLICK HERE
Search for "Care and Share Thrift Auction"
- Interest in volunteering? Reach out and let our Volunteer Manager Maggie know which 1-hour orientation you would like to attend! We look forward to meeting you!Not ready to sign up for an Orientation? Try us out at one of our monthly Volunteer Happy Hours - held on the final Tuesday of each month.Ready to sign up to become a volunteer? Apply now on our website!
Share your love of Care & Share with others by posting a Google Review! Each month, we will place names of those who left a review in a hat. We will pick one winner for a $50 local restaurant gift card! CLICK HERE to leave your review.
If something is amiss, we ask that you reach out to us first, before posting a negative review. We want to address any issues directly with disenchanted customers. Send us an email - CLICK HERE with your name, the challenge, and your phone number so we can connect with you.
We have learned after 49 years in business, that the best type of advertising is "word of mouth". Thank you for your help in promoting Care & Share.
Care & Share Thrift Shoppes is now a Certified Autism Center™, designated by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). To earn the designation, staff have completed autism training and certification in order to better understand and work with autistic visitors and supporters.
“At Care & Share, we are glad you are our neighbor! We want to be at our best to welcome you to shop, donate and volunteer," said Sarah Bergin, Executive Director. "After going through the certification process, our staff is now prepared with the knowledge that customers, donors, and volunteers are all differently abled. By welcoming everyone, our organization is stronger.”
In addition to a vibrant volunteer program, Care & Share also works with over 35 organizations as volunteers fine-tune skills in areas like receiving and processing donations, customer service, and social skills. The Shoppes accommodate weekly to daily volunteer opportunities for individuals of all different abilities.
“IBCCES is excited to announce the designation of Care & Share Thrift Shoppes to show that organizations of all types can benefit from training and certification to enhance the customer and community experience,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.
Donation Hours remain the same: Mon - Sat: 10AM - 5PM
Friday, March 29, 2024:
Shop: 9AM - 5PM
Donate: 10AM - 5PM
Have a blessed Easter Season!
Care & Share Thrift Shoppe is eager to hear from you! If you have any questions please do get in touch: