Danville Nonprofit, Low On Volunteers, Calls For Help

DANVILLE, CA — The Thrift Station in Danville is asking for the public's help after temporarily losing 40 percent of its volunteers.

Proceeds from The Thrift Station benefit Discovery Counseling Center, which has sought to provide affordable mental health counseling services to the public and schools of San Ramon Valley for nearly 50 years. Many volunteers for the store are older, have underlying conditions or live with others who are susceptible to COVID-19, said Jenise Falk, president of all-volunteer organization Friends of Discovery.

The store reopened in June after closing in March, she said. During that time, the store wasn't able to support Discovery Counseling Center as much as it previously did. And it still has to make rent, the nonprofit's biggest expenditure.

Though The Thrift Station has closed Mondays and reduced hours to accommodate a lack of volunteers, customers have remained loyal and the number of sales has been unchanged.

"There's still this huge interest in coming to the shop," Falk said. "We really want to be open more hours."

The Thrift Station is looking for adults of all ages interested in taking shifts from 9:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, who can apply here. Safety protocols are in place at the thrift store.

Discovery Counseling Center has continued to serve clients during the pandemic, according to its website. Its free online resources page offers links to articles addressing topics such as stress management, working from home and grappling with anxiety.

Counseling is offered for grief, couples, LGBTQ+ support, children, co-dependency, trauma recovery, divorce, low self-esteem and more. Anyone in crisis should call 911.

Set up a confidential appointment weekdays by calling 925-837-0505 or emailing DiscoveryCounseling@discoveryctr.net.

Visit The Thrift Station 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday at 486 San Ramon Valley Blvd. Donations may be dropped off during business hours at the back door.