by Kate Seltzer

Four years before she could retire, Coral Losinski knew that she wanted  to spend her retirement working at RuraLove’s thrift store. She said she was drawn to the organization, which is operated by Goshen Ministries and serves Louisa County residents, because of its faith-based values and its commitment to community reinvestment.

“I was here one weekend and I went shopping there just for the fun of it, because I kind of like thrifting,” she said.

Losinski said she was particularly impressed by RuraLove’s zero percent overhead. “Whether it is a donation or any money we make from the thrift store, 100 percent of what comes in goes back into the community,” she explained.

Losinski retired from her federal job in 2014, and true to her word, has been volunteering at RuraLove ever since.

RuraLove’s guests can shop at the thrift store for items at greatly reduced prices, and if they qualify for assistance based on an application that records income and need, receive help. RuraLove now operates a bustling warehouse of donations, a thrift store open weekly, a monthly yard sale, and provides financial assistance to community members in need. The charity has grown a lot in the past 25 years.

“It all began with several people in the ministry in 1995 wanting to be more than just churches coming together for worship – they wanted to really meet the needs of the community,” said RuraLove coordinator Keith Wollenberg, who holds the organization’s first and only paid position. “We started out with a couple of sheds, a handful of volunteers, and some pickup trucks.”

we started out with a couple of sheds, a handful of volunteers, and some pickup trucks.

On a weekly basis, RuraLove is staffed by anywhere from 18 to 30 volunteers.

“Most days, people sort through stuff that’s been donated,” Wollenberg explained. “Sometimes, they will take home games and puzzles to make sure all the pieces are there and wash the clothing.”

When there are missing game pieces, Heather Fickes, who has been shopping at RuraLove on a near weekly basis for the past six years, steps in.

“I do a lot of up-cycling of crafts, making things just out of game pieces or just junk or just something I look at, and think maybe I can make something, maybe an accessory or home decor,” she said. “If a game comes in like Monopoly or Scrabble, and it’s missing some of the pieces, they save me a bag – really it’s just junk – but it makes me so happy because I incorporate it in my art.”

Fickes added that whenever she needs something specific, it tends to show up at RuraLove. For instance, she’s recently been gutting a 1969 camper and asked the volunteers to keep an eye out for anything with a retro vibe. Sure enough, a dinette set from a camper came into the store. Fickes spoke fondly of the unique goods she has been able to purchase at RuraLove.

“Just on Wednesday, I got the coolest chair,” Fickes said. “It’s like a vintage wicker peacock chair; that’s my newest find. There’s always something.”

As a result of the pandemic, RuraLove had to close the thrift store for about three months. Nonetheless, they continued to provide financial assistance to people in need.

“Not one person was turned away financially,” Wollenberg said. “We may not have been able to help 100 percent, but we were able to help in some way, shape, or form.”

The last few months have presented a new – but welcome – challenge. “The pandemic really wreaked havoc on us in a good way,” Losinski said. “Most people were cleaning out their houses because they had nothing better to do.”

That intense cleaning has led to a massive influx of donations to RuraLove.

“A year ago, we could have a truckload of stuff get sorted through and priced to go out for Wednesday sale,” Losinski said. “We actually now have stuff coming in faster than we have stuff going out. It’s been a little challenge finding space, but it’s a very good thing. Our community has supported us so well that we are above and beyond our capacity, but we’re loving every minute of it.”

“Maybe one day we’ll be able to get through the lion’s share of donations,” Wollenberg added. “We could probably come close. God has truly blessed us. Weekly the things come in, and it’s just controlled chaos. We’re so thankful, but it does become overwhelming, just the sheer magnitude of the graciousness of others. That’s what we rely on.”

RuraLove is focused not just on short-term investments in individual people, but on long term investments in the community as a whole. They love to see people take care of each other when in need. That sentiment is one of the reasons Fickes prefers to shop at RuraLove before other stores.

“I would rather buy first from there because all of the money goes back into the community,” she said.

“A man, just the other day, dropped off a pickup truck full of stuff,” Losinski added. “Usually we tell people, ‘Oh, thank you so much for your generosity.’ He came back with, ‘If it wasn’t for RuraLove, I wouldn’t be able to do this. This is the least I can do to give back.’”

Both Losinski and Wollenberg described how in the past year, RuraLove was able to help a teenage girl who was displaced after leaving an abusive home.

“She left [RuraLove] with a dresser, a desk, and half a dozen bags of clothes,” Wollenberg said. “Almost every volunteer touched this young girl’s life. Everybody just stepped up.”

Losinski agreed. “We tried to give her every reason to believe she was going to be successful no matter what,” she added.

RuraLove has also been able to save a few mortgages and – on multiple occasions – completely refurnish burned-down houses with donated furniture. Although the organization is presently overwhelmed with donations, Losinski and Wollenberg have some advice if people are looking to donate. Upright dressers and chest of drawers are in high demand, as are desks, particularly as more people are working and learning from home. Because many of the people RuraLove serves live in apartments, where space is tight, love seats are often preferred to full-fledged couches. Small appliances, like fridges and electric ovens, can always be used.

Also, RuraLove could always use more volunteers. “I’m the youth group at 53,” Wollenberg said with a laugh. “We could always use young, strong backs.”

Losinski could not be happier with her decision to retire by continuing to work extremely hard.

“It’s an honor to work there,” she emphasized. “I feel good when I go there and when I walk away. It can be frustrating because you want to do more and there’s not enough hours in the day. The people that we help are really good people. No matter what’s going on in the world, I’m grateful for our oasis here in Louisa. All they have to do is ask.”

To find out specific ways you can get involved with RuraLove Ministries, contact them at 540-894-8440.

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