A store in Maplewood offers a wide range of home furnishings, antiques, decorations and artworks to help parents of special needs students pay for school.

By selling donors' gently used items, the Miriam Switching Post raises funds for the Miriam Foundation, which provides financial assistance for students attending the Miriam School in Webster Groves. One employee and more than 20 volunteers run the store, located near the intersection of Big Bend Boulevard and Alicia Avenue.

In addition to offering customer assistance, the volunteers must handle donation intake, pricing, moving, arranging and management of the store's finances.

"We're unique in that when you donate here, we put a value on what people donate and sell it for that," said Linda Estell, a volunteer who manages the volunteer workforce. "People are really comfortable with that."

This transparent pricing model contrasts with that of places like Goodwill, which ask donors to name their own price.

Donated items, once priced and put on display in the store, don't stick around for long, Estell said. Though priced to sell, the store ensures quick turn-around by marking down pieces costing more than $15 by 10 percent after the first 30 days. After 60 days, the markdown rises to 20 percent, but items usually sell before then.

Many of the volunteers were once customers whose specialized skills made them ideal workers for the nonprofit shop.

Betty Williams acts as the store's glassware specialist. The 81-year-old resident of the Friendship Village retirement community stays active by offering her expertise in pricing. A retired nurse, Williams has worked at estate sales and used to have a booth at the Warson Woods Antique Gallery.

While Williams is the Switching Post's oldest employee, Paul Beck is their youngest.

"They recruited me to be their muscles," Beck said. "It's a great school, and the kids are great."

Beck and his friend, David Parsons, are a members of a car enthusiast club that happened to visit the Switching Post.

"It's lots of fun here, there are lots of great people, and it's for a great cause," Parsons said. "I'm actually the lamp man."

Parsons and Beck both work on Thursdays, which is the primary moving day when recently donated items are introduced to the store.

The Switching Post attracts loyal customers such as Mike Foster, a resident of St. Louis' Dogtown neighborhood. When Foster isn't busy working in Clayton, he can be found at the store scouting bargain basement deals on quality furniture.

"This is the best store of all the ones around here, hands down," Foster said. "I could be a commercial for this place, honestly."

Foster became a regular customer when his daughter announced she was moving to St. Louis and requested that he keep an eye out for discounted furniture.

Miriam Developmental Director Sarah Scott appreciates the hard work of the Switching Post's volunteers.

"They’ve found some really good things," Scott said. "A lot of times we’ll get an entire estate donated."

The store raises more than $100,000 for the foundation each year, Estell said. Before moving to the Maplewood location 12 years ago, the store operated in Clayton for 40 years.

The Miriam Foundation's other fundraising efforts include grant writing, acquiring individual donations and hosting a fundraising gala. 

Because annual tuition costs more than $22,000, more than 60 percent of Miriam School families require financial assistance, Scott said. The foundation raised $600,000 last year to help cover students' tuition. 

Founded by a group of Jewish women active in the community, the Miriam School has provided a learning environment for children with learning disabilities age four through eighth grade for more than 100 years.