Hospice Shop Celebrates 30th Birthday, Nears Second Million Raised

NORTHAMPTON — Even though the Thanksgiving feast is over, there is still time to give thanks to the Hospice Shop, a longtime Northampton institution, which is now only $48,307 away from cracking its second million dollars raised for Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice.

“I love when a customer will ask about a volunteer they have not seen for a while,” said Susan Drzewianowski, the shop manager, who’s been there since 2008 when the Hospice Shop broke its first million in revenues. Drzewianowski confirms a mutual tendency for warmth and concern between volunteers and regular customers; both tend to worry about the other if they haven’t seen one another for a while.

One volunteer, Connie Wilson, who’s been there since 1987 when the shop was only a year old, knew the founder, Kit Jennison. She remembers when $50 was a great day of sales — a number that now seems humble with the Hospice Shop fast closing in on its second million dollars.

The Hospice Shop — which runs on a total volunteer force of 66 active volunteers — turned 30 on Nov. 28, and those feeling in the holiday spirit, looking for some unique and affordable gift options, or who simply want to help push the store over the $2 million hump may drop in at 18 Bridge St. in Northampton and grab a winter hat, an extra blanket, or a DVD box set of a favorite old TV show.

With a selection that includes men and women’s clothing, fashion accessories, art, books, CDs and DVDs, fabrics and yarn, household items and kitchen appliances, musical instruments, linens, and jewelry, shoppers will probably find something they or someone close to them will love. There are gift wrap and greeting cards, too, for all those last-minute, one-stop holiday shoppers. To provide extra time, the Hospice Shop will be open for extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays during the month of December.