Twice a year, Alexandra Diamond, along with staff and volunteers at the Hospice Shop of the Fisher Home in Amherst, close down the store, clean it out and restock with new donations.
Staff squirrels away new items for the “turn over” sales, as they are called, which happen in the spring and fall.
“Our contributors often say they pick the best for us,” said Diamond, the director of the shop. “It is a relationship we feel very fortunate about. … I feel very strongly about hospice, and that dedication runs through all our volunteers.”
At this year’s spring sale, on Super Tuesday, some 35 folks were lined up early, waiting for the doors to open. Veterans of the sales say they know to beat the rush; there are just two dressing room and one cash register.
Once inside, a popular stop is the Eileen Fisher rack that sits in the front of the store, where prices for items range from $20 to $30.
All the money raised at the shop goes to the operating budget of the Hospice of the Fisher Home, also in Amherst.
“I love second-hand clothes and I love hospice — nothing goes to waste,” Diamond said.
Teresa Kokoski of Easthampton says she came to the sale for “the hunt and the deals. … I don’t come for anything special. When I see it, I grab it.”
Kathleen Stinson of Belchertown added, “Once you have someone die with hospice you want to give them everything. If you’re spending money on clothes, why not give to hospice?”