Carol Helget volunteers at the MRCI thrift store in New Ulm, where she helps with cashiering and seasonal displays. Helget has been a steady presence at MRCI for more than a decade, contributing her time and warmth each Monday.

NEW ULM — Carol Helget still lives in Milford, but she and her husband are preparing for a move to New Ulm. For Helget, the transition feels natural.

“It’s home,” she said, reflecting on the familiar faces she sees each Monday at the MRCI thrift store, where she has volunteered for more than a decade.

Helget joined the store through a friend who helped manage the volunteer team. With a background in grocery retail and two decades at Carl’s Corner, she stepped into the cashier role with ease. “I love that kind of work,” she said. “I like people. That’s why I’m still out and about.”

In addition to her work at MRCI, Helget volunteers at Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, serving dinners, and helps with Bavarian Blast alongside her husband. The couple raised eight children–four boys and four girls. One son, who had muscular dystrophy, died at age 14. The experience led her family to become deeply involved with the muscular dystrophy camp at Maple Lake, a tradition her children and grandchildren continue.

Helget encourages other seniors to stay active. “Find something you enjoy,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be volunteer work, but just do something.”

For Helget, thrift stores offer more than affordable goods–they’re places of memory and meaning. She recalled searching for a vintage sweet corn cutter like the one her mother used. After decades of looking, she spotted one at MRCI, only to see it purchased by another shopper. Days later, a similar cutter appeared in a shopping cart, seemingly left behind. “Like a gift from above,” she said.

At MRCI, Helget also curates seasonal displays, including Easter, Halloween and her favorite, Christmas. “People bring in things they’re tired of, and for a buck or two, you can find treasures you’d pay ten times more for elsewhere,” she said.

Helget credits fellow volunteer Carol Guggisberg with helping keep the store running smoothly. “She’s the one we make the manager,” Helget said with a laugh. Guggisberg helps organize volunteers, sort donations and support the store’s mission.

Together, the two Carols represent the heart of MRCI, which supports adults with physical and mental challenges in the New Ulm area. Proceeds from the store fund local programs, including recreational outings and transportation services.

Helget also sings at church, a practice she continues with joy. “A priest once told me, ‘God gave you that voice–give it back,'” she said. “Well, He’s got to listen to it.”