Help the helpers
Gift Shop needs volunteers
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HANCOCK -- Inside of UP Health System-Portage Hospital in Hancock, near the front desk, sits the Guilded Rose Gift Shop. It is run exclusively by volunteers over the last decade and has donated more than $350,000 to local charitable organizations throughout the Copper Country. However, keeping the doors of this delightful shop open to hospital patients, families and visitors, is another challenge
"We used to be open, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., five days a week," Co-Manager Ronda Bogan said. "But now we're down 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. because we can't find the volunteers."
Bogan said she is the store's supplier. She gets her stock of gifts, sweet treats, baby clothes, purses, greeting cards, books and more from markets in Atlanta. "We don't have a lot of anything, but we have a little bit of everything," she said.
Running the Guilded Rose is a Herculean task. Between the buying end, enlisting and scheduling volunteers, as well as coordinating with local groups -- Bogan said she cherishes the good moments.
"A lot of people come in here for tests and they come here for chemo," she said. "We have people that come over from Portage Point that shop. This is the only place, basically, that they can shop."
One volunteer, Sue Peterson, said the shop has given her a renewed sense of community. "I've reconnected with a lot of people that I haven't seen in years," Peterson said. "People stop in, I visit with them and I enjoy the stuff we sell."
Bogan said the shop had customers from among the staff of the hospital as well.
"A lot of employees use it," she said. "They come here to get their chocolate fix. They come here to buy gifts."
Some organizations the Guilded Rose has donated to include Copper Country Autism Awareness, 31 Backpacks, Omega House, Beacon House, Search and Rescue and Keweenaw Family Resources. In total, more than 50 community non-profit organizations. The Guilded Rose also offers scholarships to local high school students who are looking at a pre-med track.
Bogan said if she wants to keep up the Guilded Rose's mission of helping the community, she needs help. “Since COVID, it's been really tough for us, because we had some wonderful volunteers who quit," she said. "We can't stay open without the volunteers."
Despite everything, Bogan said she is committed to helping the community.
"A lot of hospitals have gift shops and their buyer gets paid. Their manager gets paid," she said. "We don't because then that's just less money that we can give out."
Those who are interested in volunteering with the Guilded Rose can call at 906-483-1565, or stop by between 10 a.m. thru 3 p.m., Monday thru Friday and ask for Ronda.