WHO WE ARE
The Miracle Shop, a project of the Rotary Club of Golden, is an annual holiday popup store in Golden, Colorado. This store allows financially struggling parents the ability to shop for new and quality toys at garage sale prices. In fact, each shopper decides what he/she can afford to pay. Over five-hundred children receive holiday gifts chosen and purchased by their parent/guardian who in turn receive the gifts of a gleeful child and reinforced sense of community and personal dignity.
The Miracle Shop has been hugely successful. Adjusted pricing allows a population of underserved adults to purchase items they normally wouldn’t be able to afford, and more importantly, it creates dignity. There is no handout but, instead, a varied shopping experience. Popularity has grown, evidence that this works.
Shoppers are also the store advisors providing input on operations. And they are the clerks (earning miracle bucks they then use for shopping) when the Miracle Shop is open. These advisors tell us they are excited about the opportunity to choose gifts for their children and that paying something feels better than receiving a handout.
WHAT WE DO
The Miracle Shop is more than just a holiday toy store.
Yes, the Miracle Shop provides toys for kids at the holidays. But, it is so much more. The project treats those who come to buy with respect. Handouts can make people feel disenfranchised …. they come to think that they can’t provide for themselves and that they are due what is given to them. A vicious cycle ensues…the more you get, the more you want and the more you expect.
Some of our shoppers tell us they have stopped going to other organized holiday toy give away sites. They find the required paperwork (proof of residency, birth certificates of each of their kids) humiliating and they don’t like being escorted around a warehouse to make sure they only take what is allowed by the organization. Now that they know what it feels like to be respected, other places make them feel gloomy.
The Miracle Shop is at cross-roads. This little project has become a great success and collecting toys for 6 weeks before the holidays is no longer sufficient to run the program and meet the need. We think it’s worth fighting for and that is why we are asking for your help. Click here for ways to get involved.