THE Barn marks its 40th anniversary this month, an acknowledged success as a fund-raising organ of the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB).

The popular thrift shop opened on April 4, 1964 as a white elephant sale run from an actual barn on Sir Henry and Lady Tucker's Paget property. Today, the hundreds of donations it receives each month are spread between two pre-fabricated buildings located across the road from St. Brendan's Hospital.

Behind the operation is the Hospitals Auxiliary Board (HAB) whose president, Joy Williams, says the Barn is a success due to two facts.

"We have low overhead, because everything is donated. And we have dedicated volunteers. That's basically it. It continues to be an appealing place to shop (because) patrons know that the money received benefits our hospitals and, secondly, they know they are getting the best deal in town."

Evidence of that she pointed out are the two Gold Awards the Barn received from magazine, having been selected by its judges in 1998 and 1999 as the best place to shop for bargains.

According to a spokesperson, more than 80 volunteers ? most more than 70 years old ? are responsible for sorting the goods received and putting them on display for customers.

"Without our volunteers we would not realise such success," Mrs. Williams said. "The amount of effort that goes into categorising the donations is monumental. Each item is inspected by a volunteer and then those deemed saleable are tagged to join the vast array of items for sale.

"We have a procedure (of acceptance), we call it the Ten Commandments. We don't take anything that's dirty. And if we receive junk, we throw it away. But it works because we have a lot of people with good taste who volunteer.

"They can look at something immediately and tell whether it's fake or genuine, designer or non-designer. I think it's a love of shopping. I think they just want to help. (Whatever it is), through our volunteer hours we are able to save the Bermuda Hospitals Board thousands of dollars each year.

"Bermuda is a very wealthy country. People throw away a lot. The definition of garbage is something that's no longer of use to you. (In this case), it could be of use to someone else. I think that's the secret."

Items received at the Barn cover the entire gamut of donations, Mrs. Williams said. Clothing, bric-a-brac, artwork, silver, furniture, appliances, books, musical instruments ? all are there and every penny of profit directed to the BHB.

"We congratulate the Barn on 40 successful years of service to the community," said BHB CEO Joan Dillas-Wright.

"The HAB is a wonderful support to the BHB and it is a tribute to their hard work that they are celebrating their 40th anniversary this month."

The Barn is open two days a week at present ? Thursdays and Saturdays ? but the HAB is looking to extend to more.

"We would love to offer our patrons a third shopping day," said Mrs. Williams. "However, in order to do that, we urgently need more volunteers. Men and women, young and old, are very welcome to volunteer ? anyone that wants to help out for the good of healthcare in Bermuda."

Located at 53 Devon Springs Road, the Barn is open on Thursdays and Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Donated items may be dropped at a box by the gate at any time but the official drop-off time is 9 a.m. until noon daily. Anyone interested in volunteering may contact Ann Ross at 236-3155.