Treasure Hunting – More Than a Thrift Store
Ocean City’s five resale shops – Bastazo Thrift Shoppe, Mew to You Resale Shop, Oh Sea Thrift, Second Chance Boutique and St. Damien Thrift Shop – are all nonprofits that depend on the generosity of the community to help others
Earlier this spring, Donna Kelly was sitting in her backyard, soaking up the sunshine with her dogs, when her phone rang.
It was a call she didn’t expect, but was happy to receive – someone wanted to drop off donations at Oh Sea Thrift, Donna’s Central Avenue secondhand shop.
It didn’t matter that the store wasn’t open or that Donna was getting in some prime relaxation time.
“If someone is taking the time to donate,” she said, “I’ll say, ‘Let’s go. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.’”
Such is the way with running a nonprofit that relies on the generosity of strangers’ donations to support its endeavors. Proceeds from Oh Sea Thrift support animal welfare groups and, in fact, all five thrift shops located on the island are motivated by altruism. This may be why the owners and managers often go above and beyond for those who donate items, along with those who stop by to shop.
“We’re happy to take donations on a Monday when we’re not open. Leave it at the door and we’re thrilled,” Susan Zerbo said.
“We have somebody checking our location several times a day when we’re not open.”
Susan, who manages St. Damien Thrift Shop with Kathie Tuso, is also no stranger to popping by the Haven Avenue store when someone wants to shop at closing time and other volunteers can’t stay.
“I’m happy to come around for people,” she said.
This especially makes sense since helping people is what St.
Damien Thrift Shop is all about. Run through the Catholic church, monies raised benefit those in and around Ocean City – for just about any reason.
“We just take care of or help any person in need. You get in touch with us,” Susan said, “and that’s what we’re there for.”
That’s the story at Second Chance Boutique, too. Located on Wesley Avenue at Cornerstone Church, manager Mary Schoenewald said proceeds from the shop help the community in various ways, from financial support to providing clothing and housewares to even, on one occasion, helping someone who had been jailed for not paying fines.
“Everything goes to helping people,” Mary said.
“We just take care of or help any person in need.You get in touch with us,” Susan said, “and that’s what we’re there for.”
Designer finds to everyday needs
The generosity of the community makes these philanthropic missions easier, with Ocean City’s nonprofit thrift shops – which also include Mew to You Resale Shop and Bastazo Thrift Shoppe, both on Asbury Avenue – happily bringing in donations all year long. And while these donations may not be an undiscovered Jackson Pollack painting or a precious Murano glass vase – both of which, yes, were bought at thrift shops in recent years – they do include clothing from luxury labels, vintage jewelry and high-end collectibles.
“We do have quite a few collectibles that people have given us. Collectible glassware like Fenton, Hummels that people still do collect. We have a case where we have Lenox,” Renate Johnson, manager at Mew to You, explained.
Since space is more limited at Mew to You – two rooms of the building house the adoptable cats that the resale shop supports – the inventory tends to be a little more selective.
“People donate nicer things to us,” Renate said. “They’re very, very generous.”
Susan explained St. Damien Thrift Shop is fortunate to receive donations of higher end designer clothing, such as Louis Vuitton and Prada, and other sought-after labels, like Lululemon.
“We consistently get unique and beautiful jewelry. These pieces sell out quickly. We have gotten some beautiful, beautiful artwork. Some nice vintage items. Some antique furniture,” Susan said. “I’m amazed at some of the things that have come in.”
Of course, a shopper will find plenty of the usual thrift store fare at Mew to You and St. Damien Thrift, too, along with the other three Ocean City secondhand shops. This includes home decor and kitchenware, beach items and toys – and so much more.
“People are very into being sustainable. They want to keep stuff out of the trash and help to do their part.”
“People can find almost anything in here. Obviously, it varies week to week, and even day to day, but anything you can find in your home is here,” Mary said of Second Chance Boutique. “We sell everything – houseware, linens, furniture, decor, knick-knacks, holiday stuff, jewelry, clothing.”
The latter two items are the bread and butter of Bastazo Thrift Shoppe, which is curated more like a boutique, according to owner Cyndi Sorbello – although there is still a smorgasbord of treasures waiting to be found.
“Our No. 1 item every day is women’s clothing,” she said. “Our prices are just so good. Our jewelry is unbelievable, too.”
Proceeds from Bastazo support individuals facing cancer diagnoses through various area hospitals and organizations, all in honor of Colleen Sorbello. Colleen, who was married at the time to Sam Sorbello – Cyndi’s current husband – passed away in 2017 after a four-year battle with breast cancer. Cyndi keeps a photo of Colleen up in the store.
“This is honoring her,” Cyndi said.
Sustainable shopping
While Bastazo is doing its part to support patients with cancer, Cyndi also sees her customers thrifting to support something, too – namely, the earth and their future. Donna sees this at Oh Sea Thrift, too.
“I see a lot of the young kids coming in. They don’t want to go out and buy new,” she said, adding her young customers are enjoying the current “granny chic” trend of blending vintage and nostalgic styles to create unique, one-of-a-kind looks. Her antique and vintage items – of which Oh Sea Thrift has a multitude – are some of Donna’s best sellers, too.
Mary sees a lot of shoppers stopping in Second Chance Boutique with sustainability in mind, and she attributes the reason, partly, to being on the coast.
“Living on an island, people just seem to be more aware of reusing things and keeping things off the streets and out of the landfills. There definitely is a lot of that,” Mary said. “When they donate stuff, too, you hear that – they just don’t want to see it going into the trash.”
There’s a practicality to shopping at thrift stores, too.
“It’s smart,” Renate said. “I see the younger people are thrifting, and they’re excited to be thrifting. You can’t get a better bargain than at a thrift shop.”
But it’s not just the younger crowd heading to thrift shops with a greener earth in mind.
“It’s definitely a young thing, but older people – we’re thinking about it, too, for those generations to come,” Susan said. “People are very into being sustainable. They want to keep stuff out of the trash and help to do their part.”
A thrifting community
Thrifting is a whole vibe, and in Ocean City, the thrifting community works to make sure that vibe is fun, supportive and welcoming. This is Mary’s favorite part of managing Second Chance Boutique.
“We’re also a place where people go. They feel comfortable. This is their happy place. They can come in, have a cup of coffee, have a little conversation with us – with whoever is in the store at the time,” Mary explained. “They feel at home here. We have a lot of people say as soon as they walk through the door they can feel the peace in here.”
All of the owners and managers of the shops are also quick to not only be grateful for those shopping their stores, but for the people in the community who take the time to donate their items.
“We just really, sincerely appreciate people going out of their way donating to us and coming in and supporting us. It touches my heart,” Susan said.
That appreciation extends to each other, too. There’s a synergy among the volunteers who run Ocean City’s thrift shops.
Competition is the last thing on their mind. Helping one another – and helping customers who may be looking for something in particular – always is.
“The thrift community is so supportive of each other. We tell everyone to go to the other ones,” Cyndi said. “It’s such a blessing.”
By Kristen Dowd