Since 2011, the Naval Station Great Lakes Thrift Shop, located in Bldg. 26 and overseen by Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) Great Lakes, has been a staple in the local military community.

Providing low-cost clothing, uniforms, household items and children's toys, the Thrift Shop is an affordable, one-stop shop for military families, students and government civilian employees alike.

All this would not be possible, though, without the support of the Sailors from Surface Warfare Officers School Command Unit (SWOSU) Great Lakes. These Sailors have volunteered at the store since its beginning. Over five years, this group of young Sailors has spent thousands of their own off-duty hours to keep the store open for shoppers.

The Thrift Shop actually serves as a twofold benefit for Great Lakes; it provides an excellent service for the local military community and also raises a lot of money to support other NMCRS programs. Since its inception, the Thrift Shop has raised nearly $70,000. It has proven especially beneficial to new families moving into the area who are waiting on household goods shipments, and new students who report to school from boot camp with no civilian clothing.

"Our goal is to offer low-cost clothing and other household items to service members and their families," said Carol Ward, director of NMCRS Great Lakes and a 20-year veteran of the organization. "The Sailors from SWOSU saw a need, and they wanted to bring that service to the clients."

When the Thrift Shop first opened, it could only operate a few hours on two evenings a week, dependent on volunteer availability. Today, with the dedicated help of SWOSU, the Thrift Store is open Monday-Thursday from 4-6 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

Ward credits Damage Controlman 1st Class Michael Muskett for the volunteer support the store receives today. Muskett, the SWOSU Damage Controlman "A" School core supervisor, arrived at SWOSU in January 2015 and began volunteering not long after.

"I've always liked the thrift shop, flea market atmosphere," he said. "When I saw in the Plan of the Day that the Thrift Shop was looking for volunteers, I jumped right on the opportunity."

When Muskett first began volunteering at the Thrift Shop, there were four volunteers. Since that time, Muskett took over as the Thrift Shop lead manager and recruited other volunteers to the current roster of 15. All of these volunteers are from SWOSU, and in the last year they have accumulated more than 1,500 hours of time spent running the Thrift Shop.

Originally, volunteers were only there to receive donations, stock shelves and clean. Now, the volunteers from SWOSU are responsible for all aspects of the store.

"We run it, down to vacuuming the floor, taking inventory, putting prices on items and tending the registers," said Muskett, who is responsible for recruiting, screening and training new volunteers. "This store has a great purpose behind it. Without the staff being selfless and dedicated, the store would not open. They are using their free, shore duty time to open that shop."

Muskett said he is always looking for new ways to make the store better and raise additional money for NMCRS. In April, the SWOSU volunteers held a sidewalk sale in honor of the Month of the Military Child, where they put out over 10 bins of toys and offered all the children's clothing shoppers could fit in one bag for $1.

"We had so much children's inventory we didn't have enough room to put it all on the sales floor," he said.

Muskett is also trying to reach out to other commands to find new volunteers, since volunteers frequently transfer and always need replacement. To volunteer, Sailors can contact Muskett at (847) 688-3222, or by email at michael.j.muskett@navy.mil.

"We couldn't do this without our volunteers," said Ward. "There is something very special about a person who gives up their own time to help others."

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For more news from Training Support Center, Great Lakes, visit http://www.navy.mil/.