Glad Rags Pushes On After 33 Years

While residents from all over Westwood will be rushing to the polls in Tuesday's State Primary Election, a group of volunteers will be opening the doors of a local thrift shop for the 33rd year in a row. 

Glad Rags Thrift Shop, located on the backside of the same building as Westwood Convenience and Victoria's Cucina Italiana, offers a wide variety of clothing, books, toys, jewelry and various household goods.

"Every single thing that comes in is donated," said Jean Brooks, chairperson of volunteers at Glad Rags. "There's no money paid out for anything. It's not a consignment shop, it's a straight donation."

Glad Rags first opened its doors in 1977 in an effort to help support the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC). 

"The facility was a lawn mower repair shop when the original women went in," Brooks said. "How they could ever envision painting and carpeting, and how their husbands built the shelving - that was an amazing group."

The "original women" Brooks spoke of included a group of women, all now deceased, who were on a statewide Board of Directors for the MSPCC out of Boston. The MSPCC had been running other similar shops in the state at the time, Brooks said, and they were looking to open one in the Westwood area. 

The store accepts donations of anything from toys to clothing. All proceeds from the store go to the MSPCC, and Glad Rags is actually written into the MSPCC budget every year, Brooks said.

Brooks, who is retiring this year after more than 30 years of volunteering at the thrift shop, says the store currently has about 65 volunteers on staff, with some working one three-hour shift per month, and others working nearly three shits per week.

"It is all volunteer, non-profit, and every dime, after we pay our rent, goes to the MSPCC," Brooks said. "A lot of people do bits and pieces on the outside to keep things rolling." 

Brooks acknowledged, though, that most of the volunteers are aged 50 and older, and there has been difficulty in attracting more youthful volunteers in town.

"We are having trouble getting the young people in," Brooks said. "So it's getting tough, and I think this is the problem, where some of the (other)shops have had to close."

Still, the volunteers that have helped haven't gone unnoticed or unappreciated. 

"I think it's just been a good opportunity for people that want to volunteer," said Millie Galvin, who has been volunteering for about 10 years. "I am just amazed at all the volunteers."

What's more, Glad Rags is one of only two MSPCC thrift shops of its kind still standing in the state, Brook said, the other being The Lighthouse Thrift Shop in Marblehead. 

On occasion, the MSPCC will contact Glad Rags and inform the staff that the organization has taken in a mother or a struggling family for aid. Volunteers at Glad Rags will then gather a bundle of items to hand over to them at no charge. 

Brooks said she is taken back by the fact that Glad Rags is still able to operate after more than three decades.

"I think it's amazing," she said. "Things have changed dramatically."

Glad Rags is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store is closed during the summer season and reopens each fall.

For more information, visit the MSPCC website or contact Glad Rags at 781-329-6129.