The decades-long theme of serving the community found in the Coral Thrift Shop’s 60th anniversary milestone was reflected again on Wednesday, April 17, when dozens gathered at Casino San Clemente to celebrate the occasion.
Linda Sadeghi, the Casino’s owner, donated the facility to Coral Thrift Shop for free to host the event, according to store volunteer Nancy Sutton. Some employees from Casino San Clemente were present to assist in running the celebration; the Casino’s longtime caterer, California Fresh, contributed the food; and the Kalama Brothers, a musical group comprising the sons of another volunteer, performed for the audience.
Those instances exemplified the close-knit nature of the City of San Clemente, whose population has grown to over 60,000 but still boasts the “small-town character” of the community.
Patty Beverly (left) receives a raffle prize from Lindsay Boff during the Coral Thrift Shop’s 60th anniversary celebration Wednesday, April 17. Photo; Courtesy of Tom Marshall
Sutton, Lynn Brown, Jaine Culbertson and Dominique Marshall are a few of the more recent residents to devote time to keeping the thrift shop running. The group, part of the store’s Friday shift, carry on the long-standing tradition that was started by seven local mothers in 1964 – whose efforts were made more difficult by rules that didn’t allow women to open a bank account or obtain a credit card on their own.
“It used to be where they were only open during school hours,” Sutton said. “They closed at (3 p.m.) years ago, because then they would go home, take care of their kids, feed the family and do all that.”
Before long, the store added donating to education as one of its core objectives, and consistency over the years built Coral Thrift Shop into the San Clemente institution it is today.
That higher purpose of raising money for the community is what’s significant not only about Coral Thrift Shop, but The Bargain Box (operated by the Assistance League of Capistrano Valley) and Casita de Kathy, according to Sutton.
“I think it’s a ‘give-back’ community,” she said of San Clemente. “We’ve got a lot of retirees here. You stop working full-time, and you’re kind of like, ‘I can’t just sit around the house and keep myself busy doing housework or whatever.’ ”
Marshall added that the laid-back nature of the store’s operations encouraged her to begin volunteering.
“You can do what you want (and) what you can do …” she said. “(You can choose) the hours you want to work, the days you want to work, and you feel free.”
Brown was compelled by a friend to join in 2019, as she had long been free on Fridays and the store needed a person to fill in on those days. She’d never had a “driving ambition” to work at a thrift store, Brown joked, but the decision was worthwhile.
“It’s really fun,” said Brown. “It’s really cool, and you help people, and I love that part of it.”
There are many components that go into operating the store, including receiving and organizing donations, washing, steaming and sorting clothes, and pricing. It helps that Coral Thrift Shop sees plenty of high school students volunteer to earn community service hours, according to Sutton.
The store is an “upper-crust” outfit that tends to carry higher-quality items, she added, so after washing clothes and seeing if stains come out, the student volunteers help the store pass along the items to places like La Tienda Thrift Store.
“We try not to throw anything away,” said Sutton. “If we can’t use it, we find somebody else that can use it and repurpose it.”
Last week’s luncheon was a rousing success, as 140 people were in attendance to experience a fashion show in addition to lunch and the Kalama Brothers’ performance. Sutton recalled how the models wore clothes from Coral Thrift Shop and impressed their audience, and that one model liked the dress she wore so much that she bought it afterward.
The event was just another part of a successful last year or so for the store, Sutton added. Coral Thrift Shop sets a goal of donating increasingly more money each year, and after giving away $86,000 in scholarships in 2023, the store will give away $115,000 this year.
According to a press release from the store, 89 area high-school seniors will receive between $1,000 and $2,000 in scholarships.
“That’s how much money we have made, thanks to the community giving products that we can recycle and repurpose,” said Sutton. “(It’s also) thanks to the volunteers who show up Monday through Saturday and give their time and expertise.”
The Coral Thrift Shop, located at 534 N. El Camino Real, is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.