Susan Casarez arranges items in a toy display while Josephson Badger looks on.
Josephine Badger and Susan Casarez couldn’t have led more different lives. Badger retired 10 years ago from the Peapack, NJ, Post Office. Casarez spent three years in the CIA and 20 years in the US Marine Corps. Badger has lived in Gladstone, NJ, for several years. Casarez grew up in Peapack-Gladstone but just moved back to Peapack this past September, after an absence of 33 1⁄2 years, to be closer to her mother.
They do, however, share one common commitment: volunteering at the Second Chance Shop, the thrift shop in Gladstone managed by The Friends of Matheny to raise funds for Matheny. Badger has been working at Second Chance for about seven years, mostly on Friday mornings, although she substitutes when needed. Casarez works every Monday and every fourth and fifth Friday. Badger “enjoys the camaraderie and talking to the people who come in to shop.” Casarez says working at the shop, “just makes me feel good. It’s all for a good cause.”
Through the week of March 3, 2012, the Second Chance Shop had earned more than $79,604 since opening after Labor Day. For the entire 2010-2011 season the shop had earned $88,000. The Friends of Matheny has raised more than $3 million for Matheny since its inception in 1983.
