Volunteer
Our Volunteers Make a Difference
At hello, Goodbuy, we are incredibly grateful for the people who choose to give their time to our store and our community.
Our store is powered by community donations and supported by a combination of dedicated paid staff and volunteers. Every day, donated clothing, furniture, books, household items, and other treasures are sorted, cleaned, organized, priced, and placed on our sales floor. Our volunteers help make that possible.
But volunteering with us is about more than simply getting work done. Our volunteers become part of the hello, Goodbuy family. They help create a welcoming environment for our donors and customers, help us care for the donations entrusted to us, and ultimately help us fulfill our mission of giving back to the community.
Every hour volunteered helps us do a little more for Glynn County. We truly appreciate every person who gives their time, energy, and talents to hello, Goodbuy.
Volunteer Jobs
There are many different ways our volunteers help throughout the store. Some jobs are behind the scenes, while others take place throughout the sales floor and around the property.
Intake
Testing Electronics
Plugging in and testing electronic items to ensure they are in usable and sellable condition. This can include a wide variety of items such as microwaves, hair straighteners, lamps, and more. Items that do not work are discarded, while working items are marked and set aside to be priced by an employee.
Sorting Donations
Assisting the intake team by sorting incoming donations into their designated departments, such as shoes, books, hard goods, and more.
Assisting Donation Intake
Helping the intake team unload donations, maintaining a friendly and welcoming environment for our donors, and providing donation receipts.
Straightening the Grounds
Helping keep the property looking its best by picking up trash and debris, raking or blowing leaves, wiping down windows, and assisting with other outdoor needs as they arise.
Clothes, Shoes & Accessories
Keep/Go Shoes
Inspecting donated shoes to determine whether they are clean, usable, and sellable. This includes ensuring each shoe has a matching pair and checking for dry rot, stains, tears, and other damage. Sellable shoes are sorted by season, gender, and children’s shoes before being set aside for an employee to price.
Keep/Go Luggage
Inspecting luggage for rips, stains, insect damage, mold, and other issues. Sellable luggage is evaluated for quality and practicality, while items that do not meet our standards may be discarded or set aside to be offered for free. Items that meet our standards are set aside to be priced by an employee.
Hanging Clothing
Placing tagged or tagged-and-priced clothing neatly onto hangers and preparing it for the sales floor.
Sorting Kids’ Clothing
Sorting previously organized totes of children’s clothing into boys’ and girls’ sections, and then separating clothing by type, such as pants, shirts, dresses, and more.
Sorting Accessories
Sorting accessories that arrive mixed in with clothing donations into their appropriate categories and departments. This can include hats, ties, belts, purses, socks, underwear, and more.
Sales Floor
Sweeping & Mopping
Helping keep the sales floor clean, safe, and welcoming by sweeping and mopping.
Cleaning Shelves
Removing items from shelves, wiping the shelves down with cleaner, and returning merchandise neatly to its proper place.
Straightening Bookshelves
Straightening books so they are neatly displayed and checking titles to make sure books are located in the correct genre or section.
Straightening Clothing
Walking through clothing racks to make sure garments are hanging on the correct rack and organized by size. This also includes returning items from the dressing-room go-back rack to their proper locations.
Straightening Hard Goods Shelves
Making sure hard goods are in their correct areas and displayed in a practical and attractive way. When possible, volunteers may also help create displays that make items stand out and make the shelves inviting to shoppers.
Organizing & Straightening the Kids’ Corner
Keeping children’s clothing, toys, and accessories organized and easy to shop. This includes hanging clothing correctly, lining up toys, and sorting items such as hats, socks, bibs, onesies, and more.
As Needed — Not Always Available
Some volunteer jobs are available only when we have enough merchandise ready or when a particular area needs attention.
Restock Frames
Restocking priced picture frames in a practical and attractive way.
Restock Kids’ Toys
Restocking priced children’s toys and keeping the shelves organized and inviting.
Restock Men’s & Women’s Undergarments
Checking the sock, underwear, bra, and camisole drawers to make sure everything is properly sorted, then refilling them with available merchandise.
Restock Ballcaps & Ties
Organizing the $1 ballcap and tie drawers, removing stray merchandise, and restocking them with available items.
Restock Clothing
Moving priced clothing onto the sales floor and restocking racks while maintaining organization by size and clothing type.
Rolling & Tagging Fabric
Rolling available fabric neatly, securing it with ribbon, tagging it, and setting it aside for an employee to price.
Cards
Sorting greeting cards by type and season, restocking the card rack with appropriate selections, and organizing holiday cards into their corresponding tubs in the back room.
Organizing Holiday Totes
Sorting miscellaneous holiday merchandise in the back room into the appropriate holiday storage tubs.
Other Opportunities
As volunteers spend more time with us and become familiar with the store, their opportunities can grow.
Once we have gotten to know one another and established a relationship of trust, we are happy to learn more about a volunteer’s individual skills, interests, and areas of knowledge. There may be opportunities to use those talents in ways that go beyond our everyday volunteer jobs.
Our first priorities, however, are always preparing donated items for the sales floor and providing a positive experience for our customers and donors. Learning the basics of the store is an important part of becoming a well-rounded hello, Goodbuy volunteer.
What Makes a Great Volunteer?
While every person brings something different to our volunteer team, we especially value volunteers who demonstrate:
Respect
Treating customers, donors, staff, and fellow volunteers with kindness and respect.
Reliability
Following through on commitments and being someone the team can count on.
Trustworthiness
Taking care of the store, its merchandise, and the people around you with honesty and integrity.
A Desire to Help Others
Understanding that the work we do ultimately exists to serve our community.
Why Your Time Matters
hello, Goodbuy exists because our community gives.
People donate clothing, furniture, household goods, books, antiques, and countless other items to our store. We work to give those items a second life while making them available at affordable prices — and, when possible, at no cost to people in need.
The proceeds from the store then go back into the community through support for local charities and nonprofits in Glynn County.
Over the years, hello, Goodbuy has returned millions of dollars to our community, including reaching the $2 million milestone during one of our celebrations. Those funds have helped organizations working in areas such as housing, crisis support, veterans’ services, youth programs, faith-based outreach, and many other areas of community need.
It’s truly locals helping locals.
Our volunteers are an important part of that story.
Thank You, Volunteers
Whether you spend a few hours sorting donations, organizing a shelf, helping in intake, or becoming one of the familiar faces our customers see around the store, your time matters.
We know that your time is valuable, and we are genuinely thankful that you choose to spend some of it with us.
Thank you for helping us turn community donations into good-buys, and good-buys into good things for our community.
We couldn’t do what we do without the people who help make it happen.