Great News

Arc’s Value Village Honors
Local Resident with Golden Paintbrush Award

MINNEAPOLIS – Volunteer Gary Rue of Bloomington agreed to paint one wall at Arc’s Value Village Thrift Store & Donation Center in Richfield. The freshly-painted wall looked great — making the one next to it look rather shabby. Rue next took the brush to that wall and so on and so on. What started out as one wall became the whole store. One year later the project was complete and a tally showed that Rue had spent 270 hours painting store walls. Arc’s Value Village staff recently honored him with a fitting tribute — a Golden Paintbrush Award.

Gary and his wife, Lois, began volunteering at Arc’s Value Village five years ago, about a year after he retired as a vice president at ADC Telecommunications. Their son, Greg, is an assistant manager at the store and suggested the Rues might enjoy volunteering at Arc’s Value Village. “I think they were hooked from day one,” says Greg Rue. Gary and Lois now spend two days or 10 hours a week volunteering at the store. When Gary is not busy painting, he likes to test appliances to make sure they are in working order before they go out on the sales floor.

“I worked for 47 years and I like to have some structure to my life, to get up, go somewhere and be a part of a team. That’s why we like to volunteer at Arc’s Value Village,” says Gary.

With a thousand customers a day coming through its doors, the Value Village store on Penn Avenue was looking a bit worn out and staff wanted to spruce the place up a bit, but couldn’t afford to hire professional painters. They asked Gary to paint one wall. “The more we did, the better it looked and the more people commented on how nice the store looked. That was very rewarding,” says Gary.

If you have two hours a week or eight hours a month to give, find out more about volunteering at Arc’s Value Village by calling Volunteer Development Manager Molly Lindblad at 952-915-3652 or visiting www.arcsvaluevillage.org.

Arc’s Value Village, now 25 years old, has generated more than $13 million on behalf of Arc and the people it serves, thanks to generous donations from the community. Revenue from the sale of donated items helps fund Arc Greater Twin Cities’ programs for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Arc Greater Twin Cities is a nonprofit agency serving the many needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Established in 1946, Arc has been changing attitudes, changing policies and changing lives for more than 60 years. Arc helps individuals and families address issues that span the lifetime, including early intervention, education, transition to adulthood, health care, housing, employment, guardianship and more. For more information and volunteer opportunities, call Arc at (952) 920-0855 or visit www.arcgreatertwincities.org.