There are pockets of goodness everywhere in Reno. In the midst of a housing crisis, and costs of living which seem to grow higher by the day, folks in the Reno community (and everywhere) need a little boost sometimes. Those pockets of goodness are here, and ready to give a boost and a smile to whoever is around.
Good Shepherd’s Clothes Closet is one of those places. On the outside it may not seem like much— a small storefront on Greenbrae Drive in Sparks. On the inside, however, are racks on racks of clothes, shoes, and other supplies. And the best part– it’s all free for those who need it.
Community members smile as they comb through the aisles, grabbing a nice, new, button-down shirt to feel sharp or a new suit jacket to impress. Before heading out the door, they receive soap, socks, blankets, and any other items that will help them through the month.
The sight of Renoites receiving a helpful service is wonderful in itself. But the real wonder is what, and who, is making it all happen. Since 1996, Good Shepherd's Clothes Closet has run on donations of both money and time. And, according to Joyce Macway, it’s that donated time that really makes the difference.
Joyce, a Sparks native, has volunteered at the GSCC for over fifteen years now. She says that she has always believed in volunteering. She and her family traveled around quite a bit for her husband’s job: from California, to Alabama, to Oklahoma, and all the way to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Joyce found places to give her time, and her joyful energy, everywhere she went. She has worked at Street Life Ministries in California, with special needs kids in schools, in churches, and in libraries all around the world.
After a long time away, she landed back in Reno, Nevada. And after hearing about Good Shepherd’s Clothes Closet, she stopped by to see what it was all about– and keeps coming back to help. “It helps me keep my life in perspective,” she says. “I lost my mom. I lost my dad. Struggled with my sisters over the estate. But this kept me grounded.”
Joyce has also made some lifelong friends during her time at GSCC. “I just lost one,” she says, with sadness in her voice. “She passed away at the age of 94, and she probably volunteered at the clothes closet (for) 20 years. I used to refer to her as my mom, my grandma, and my aunt all rolled into one,” Joyce smiles as she remembers her friend. “She was the neatest lady.”
At Good Shepherd’s, clients can come in every thirty days. At the front of the store, they pick up a laminated piece of paper– a list of items that they can take from the clothes closet, each month. This system is in place so the volunteers can ensure that they have enough supplies for everyone. But their kindness is bigger than lists.
“We have had fire victims come in here,” Joyce recalls. “And usually I just tell them, ‘get what you need. We're not gonna follow the list today. Just get what you need.’” Joyce says that the same goes for immigrants and refugees who arrive in Reno with nothing to their name. “‘Today, get what you need. Next time you come we'll follow the list.’”
Joyce and the other volunteers at GSCC welcome people from all over, and from all different situations. Joyce remembers one day, recently, that she helped someone who had just left a domestic violence situation. “They had on what they had,” she says. “They were so grateful. And it was just so nice to be able to help them with that.”
“We get lots of grateful people through here.” Joyce says. Sometimes clients want to share their stories with Joyce and whoever else is around. Joyce recently celebrated with a client who was four weeks sober. “Sometimes people ask for hugs,” she smiles. “I give it to them. When they walk through that door, I want them to be happy to be here. I want them to have a good shopping experience.”
If someone wants to volunteer at Good Shepherd’s Clothes Closet, there is always a need for donated time. Volunteers work at the front desk, helping clients find what they need, chatting with folks who may need a listening ear, and organizing the racks. And if a volunteer isn’t feeling too social, they can work in the back: organizing supplies, hanging clothes, listening to music. There is something for everyone to do.
Joyce wrote a few essays, reflecting on the time she has spent volunteering– at GSCC and everywhere else. She writes about the benefits of volunteering: “I learned, first hand, that the benefits of volunteering are good for your mind as well as your body.” She describes that after she began spending time at the clothes closet, her “problems didn’t seem too big anymore.”
One of the essays Joyce wrote is titled “My Happy Place”. “Volunteering at the Good Shepherd Clothes Closet is my ‘happy place,’” she writes. “The hours I spend working are helping me deal with the parts of my life that haven’t turned out as expected. I love the interaction with clients as I bag up their items. I like the feeling that I am making a difference in their lives because I spoke with them, shook hands with them, hugged them, made them smile, laugh or shared ‘the Lord be with you.’”
Joyce and all of the volunteers at Good Shepherd’s Clothes Closet are creating one of Reno’s pockets of goodness. They are re-creating it every day, over and over, as they share their time, smiles, and hugs with people in need of kindness. When the clothes closet first opened 27 years ago, they served a dozen clients a day. Now, that number is over one hundred. According to Joyce, it’s the volunteers that make GSCC successful. “They all believe in paying it forward,” she says. “We're all blessed. And we're all doubly blessed. To be here, to be able to do it.”