Ray of Hope Community Thrift Store opened in November 2019. In March 2020, the pandemic forced us to close our doors for three months. With less than four months of operating experience under our belts, we found ourselves in need of new management.
Enter Charlie and Alesa Hintz. Their love for people and heart for our community made them the perfect candidates to realize the vision for Ray of Hope Community Thrift Store (ROH). They had the qualifications, backgrounds, and work experience required to manage the operation but, better yet, they came to us with a strong and passionate desire to love and serve people and to make a real difference in our community.
In June 2020, they went to southern California for a week of training and returned to reopen the store on June 22, 2020. They got right to work, hiring and training staff, processing donations, stocking shelves, and serving customers.
Once staff and operating systems were in place, Charlie and Alesa turned their attention to the realization of our tagline–”compassionately committed to community.” Various initiatives designed to serve, connect, endorse, promote, support, and fund other people and organizations who are doing good in our community were launched and continue to this day.
When asked about Charlie and Alesa, people do not recall Charlie’s retail expertise or the efficient operation of the donation processing center. No one mentions the effectiveness of Alesa’s marketing initiatives or the accuracy of her database queries or accounting reports.
What people do remember is Charlie’s friendly greeting, compassionate heart, and readiness to serve–and Alesa’s listening ear, practical wisdom, and willingness to care. Charlie and Alesa embody the essence of our vision as both of them are, indeed… compassionately committed to community.