Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Lou Flanagan of Los Gatos came to Price Charming thrift shop to look for an old sweater she can get
paint on when she goes to her West Valley College art class.

The Price Is Charming

The modest storefront between Delia's Cleaners and Kirkwood Flowers at the Kirkwood Plaza Shopping Center belies the wealth of bargains and good feelings to be found at Price Charming, Hospice of the Valley's year-old thrift shop.

Opened in January 1995 to generate funds for the hospice, the shop is attracting a growing group of regular customers who browse through the new and nearly new merchandise, including clothing, bedding, appliances, books, knickknacks and more.

Marti Bargas, the store manager, is the only paid employee. Retired from Safeway, she still works part-time at The Limited clothing store and commutes from Santa Cruz. A small, energetic woman sparkling with vitality, she has a kind word for every customer and for every one of the 50 to 60 volunteers who help at the shop in the course of a month.

Bargas makes every volunteer feel important to the organization, says John Finan of Saratoga, who works with fellow volunteer Tad Kuga to check and repair all of the electrical items that come to the shop.

"If it's got a plug on it, send it back to us," says Finan, an engineer at IBM for 37 years.

He says Price Charming is a fun place to work, and he's glad the money goes to the hospice. "I look at it as a way to give back to the community."

Finan's wife, Joanne, also volunteers at Price Charming. An expert in antiques, she helps appraise collectibles and antiques that come in. Sometimes she pulls items out to sell at her antique store and gives the money to the hospice. "I think the money goes to an extremely worthwhile effort," Joanne says.

Prices at the shop are deeply discounted, but they still make money for the hospice. A $2-per-item sale last spring earned $8,000 in two days.

Marcia Burkhart, also a Saratogan, works as a cashier, sorts and prices items and generally helps wherever needed. Assigned to a four-hour shift on Fridays, she usually stays at least five hours. "I feel like I'm contributing something," she says. "My kids call me 'the professional volunteer.' "

The volunteers' average age is mid-60s to mid-80s. Students from local schools come to do service projects, and workers from GAIN, a San Jose Social service agency, are also assigned to the shop.

The merchandise is donated by individuals and organizations. Price Charming also receives contributions from other stores, including Eleanor's Discount Clothing and First Issue. Long's, Hitachi and IBM have all donated office and sales equipment.

Dick Miller, 75, volunteers to pick up donated merchandise in his pickup truck. A widower, he still belongs to an HOV survivors group. Much of what he collects comes from hospice patients who have died. Giving the things away can be an emotional task, one he understands well. "It often takes people a while to get enough courage to give away not just clothing but a part of their spouse."

Everything that comes to the shop is checked and cleaned before it goes onto the sales floor. What they can't sell at Price Charming, they give to other charities, Bargas says. "Nothing ever goes to waste here; if we can't use it, we donate it out."

"It said 'beggar' across my forehead when I first started this job," Bargas says. Everything from her desk to the hangers the clothes are displayed on was donated, she says. "People were so generous and still are."

Price Charming, 1614 W. Campbell Ave., Campbell, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations are accepted Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, call 370-4810.