Mark Lucas volunteers at Morning Glory Ministries in Biscoe. The thrift store receives goods and money donations to fulfill the mission of helping the homeless and needy. Lucas mostly helps with excess book donations by making use of them in various ways, but while volunteering, he is willing to help with other things when needed.
Lucas is interested in books, but he says another reason for his volunteer work with Ministries Don and Joy Maynor is that they care about and help society. The ministry supplies food, clothing, sleeping bags, tents and more to the homeless and needy and serves several counties, including Montgomery, Moore, Randolph and others.
“I really enjoy working with the ministry. Joy and Don are amazing people … They are an asset to the community, ”Lucas said.
In December 2017, the first Morning Glory Ministries location opened in Star, but the thrift store was later moved to a larger location on Sedberry Road in Biscoe. It was relocated to an even larger building at 309 Wright Road, Biscoe, its current location. The ministry now has another thrift store in Robbins.
Making a win-win situation from excess donated books
Before Lucas started volunteering, he was a customer of the thrift store. He saw some books in boxes and asked if he could see them through. Joy said he could and asked him to separate the books by genre while he did so. On the same subject : Devastating earthquake in Afghanistan – United States Department of State. They sold him a box of books for only a few dollars. He has his own collection so he was happy to get good books to add and shop.
Lucas, who works on the second shift at Perdue’s feed factory in Candor, volunteered to help handle books for a few hours a week. He says it was around September 2019; at the time, the Morning Glory Ministries thrift store was located on Sedberry Road, Biscoe. Lucas helps most on Tuesdays, but he sometimes comes by other days and works or picks up books.
Along with other donated items, the thrift store gets a lot of books. Joy decides for herself which ones to keep in the store and also uses an app to sell certain books to companies. Lucas used to put books on the shelves, but some did not sell, and now Joy does not have that many in the thrift store.
Lucas now deals primarily with the remaining unwanted books. He sorts them out and picks them up. He makes use of them by donating, shopping, putting some in his own collection and recycling those that are in poor condition.
Lucas says that probably three-quarters of the books he picks up have been donated. Some have been donated to organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. He saves magazines and books for someone he knows who takes them to rest homes in the area. He also donates religious books to local churches.
He gives books away to people who want them for their children; the less fortunate can not always afford to buy books for their children. He has connections with people through work and church who benefit from book donations.
“It helps people who otherwise would not have a chance to get these books,” Lucas said.
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Because of COVID, in 2020, Lucas did not work as much at Morning Glory Ministries, but he still picked up excess books while at a distance. He said he gave away many books that year; people apparently read more while staying at home during that time.
A colleague of his had a grandson who participated in a reading competition and had to read a certain number of words. He provided her with a lot of books she could use to meet her reading requirements.
Lucas said another colleague of his had a house fire that burned up all of her child’s books. He was able to replace the broken books.
He ends up keeping about 15 percent of the books. He is a fan of history and collects historical and religious studies as well as leisure reading books such as science-fiction fantasy. He exchanges books with people and goes to bookstores and trades in used books. He gets to exchange some books for CDs and DVDs.
About 10 percent of the books he gets are torn, damaged, etc. They are driven to book shredders for recycling.
If someone is looking for a particular book, he can write it down and look for a copy for them. In return, he knows people who can look for specific books he wants.
Lucas sees his work with these books as a blessing in every way. Joy can give the excess books to him. People and organizations benefit from book donations. It also benefits him; he can enjoy his book collection hobby without spending a lot of money.
Lucas wants to continue to help the community by making use of the many books he gets and letting people know he has plenty to give away.
It can be tedious to lift boxes of books from the thrift store and then work on the second shift at his regular job, but Lucas does not mind. For him, his work with Morning Glory Ministries is not a job; it’s a call.
Amy Dunn writes personal profiles. Do you know anyone in Randolph County who makes an impact or has an interesting story? Email suggestions to adunn@courier-tribune.com.
