URES
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
www.theloquitur.com
FEATURES 9
Local thrift store helps less fortunate jen wozniak staff writer
jlw729@cabrini.edu
Old clothes to donate? Looking for some sweet deals? Consider going to a Salvation Army thrift store. One is located about 15 minutes away from Cabrini on Main Street in Norristown, Pa. Discounted clothes, shoes, accessories, appliances, home decorations, furniture and more is what you will find upon entering a Salvation Army thrift store. With the poor economy these days, more people may begin to look around for bargains as money gets tight. The Salvation Army works to provide a variety of goods to the community at bargain prices. Rosie Carey, an employee at the Norristown store, said, “October is the busiest time for thrift stores, because of the change of seasons and people looking for warmer clothes.” Carey explained that people of all ages shop at and donate to the Salvation Army. Although it may take some rooting around, students may be surprised to find some really great items. “You can find some cute things and make your own style,” Erica Falvey, freshman elementary education major, said. “You can find good deals there.” Falvey explained that she likes shopping at thrift stores
jen wozniak/staff writer
The Salvation Army pictured here is located on Main Street in Norristown, Pa. It sells a variety of items including purses, clothing, antiques, plush animals and furniture. for unique items and has recommended thrift stores to friends. Shopping for clothes at thrift stores not your thing? Remember, you can get bargains on other items such as appliances, decorations and books. “I went with my mom a long time ago and she was buying antiques,” Mike McCarthy, freshman accounting major,
said. “She donates my old clothes there all the time too.” The Salvation Army is always accepting donations from people. That is how the store is kept running. “My whole family cleans out the house every once in a while and donates there,” Dave Edenfield, junior studio art major,
said. He said that his family has donated clothes, shoes and old toys. The Salvation Army accepts mostly anything. The only things that they do not accept are major appliances, like refrigerators, and major children’s items, like cribs, because of recall. “During the Christmas season,
I usually see Salvation Army bins that I place donations in,” Sara Trzuskowski, junior elementary and special education, said. The Christmas season is approaching and is a key time to donate. However, the store accepts donations on any day throughout the year. The thrift store is just a small part of what the Salvation Army does. The Salvation Army is a Christian organization that has many programs and ways of helping the less fortunate. They also have recovery programs that help people recover from drugs and alcohol for example. Purchases from the Salvation Army stores directly fund the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center. “This means that the bargains you find for yourself also helps others by reclaiming lives and healing families,” the Salvation Army Web site said. If you can’t even shut your dresser drawers anymore, or have items laying around that you never use, you could consider donating to the Salvation Army. Also, it may be a good idea to keep the Salvation Army in mind next time before you throw anything out, if you are looking for a discount or just searching for a distinct accessory or piece of clothing for a costume party. You could find something really unique.
Professional e-mail advice for students molly kearney staff writer
mwk723@cabrini.edu
The professional world relies on e-mails to send messages to co-workers nationally and internationally. At one moment e-mails are being sent. E-mails can be sent to friends, professors, family and employers. The two most important of that list are your professors and employers. As a student, one must know how to conduct themselves appropriately and properly in an e-mail. Everyone uses e-mail as a tool of communication, but sometimes this tool can ruin you and your reputation. At some point in your life you will send out an email that either wasn’t meant to be sent to someone or it is filled with typos. No one wants to read that. Missent e-mails have become the online equal to dialing the wrong number. In order to understand what is going on today, we must look into the past to when e-mails became a part of professional life. Jody Romano, alumni director, has a background in the professional world and says originally e-mails were used for internal communication within a company. The business world set the standard for protocol by taking what they knew from professional letter writing and used
those standards. Romano explained that emails are less formal when writing to a friend. Romano explained that she has a formal tone to her e-mails and she waits for the response back to set the tone. She recommends that as a way of writing a professional e-mail. Romano also said the most important thing is to remember to be very careful when forwarding an e-mail in the professional world. People have lost jobs for forwarding joke e-mails in that setting. This standard holds true within the Cabrini community. Take time to proofread your e-mails and do not specifically rely on spell check. Possible employers may take offense to your poorly written e-mail. Nancy Hutchison, director of co-op and career services, said the most important thing for students to remember is that you are writing a professional letter; keep that in mind even though it is over e-mail. Also, keep your e-mail address professional such as using your first and last name not some kind of nickname that could be offensive. “This type of communication is open to everyone, so people need to write accurately and not state anything that they don’t want someone to see. People can’t write in stream of consciousness without punctuation and taking
shortcuts such as i for I and u for you.” Hutchison explained that those elements are key. Hutchison also stressed that people must be certain they have the correct email address in the “To” box. One must remember even though this communication is over e-mail it is professional communication and one is being judged by what one writes, even if one cannot be seen. Daryl Ruis, senior marketing major, knows the importance of writing a professional looking email. Her father works in human resources and taught her. Ruis said it is important to be proper and professional. It also gives you an advantage in the work world. Ruis recommends that if you are a current senior you should know how to write a professional e-mail by second semester. Ruis’ most important piece of advice that professional e-mails will help you to handle yourself in your career. As a professional, you can only rely on yourself to get ahead in your career. Monica Burke, senior communication major, said that it is always a challenge to maintain professional format in everything you do, especially when writing an e-mail. Burke also went on to say that because e-mail is viewed as informal that one must be courteous. Burke expressed that possible employers may come across a re-
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People have lost jobs for forwarding joke e-mails in the workplace, for too many typos and informal tone including “i” and “u”. sume via an e-mail that is unprofessional and may brush it off. Burke said that e-mail is the way of the future and eventually employers must catch up but as for this time, make sure to e-mail your resume properly.
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