{"id":955,"date":"2022-12-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/?p=955"},"modified":"2025-08-26T17:28:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:28:11","slug":"its-what-i-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s what I do."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OPEN THE door of the Habitat Thrift Store just off Shelbyville\u2019s square and expect to leave with a lighter heart and a smile on your face. Drop whatever is wearing on you outside their door; it\u2019ll be gone when you come out. You may or may not make a purchase, but you\u2019ll leave with a priceless treasure every time. Shontelli (pronounced Shawn-tell) Allen will make sure of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A torn rotator cuff took Allen from her job at a Shelbyville manufacturing company. She was placed with the local Habitat store to provide lighter work while she recovered. Allen had never heard of Habitat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I met Pam. I called just to figure out where it was. And just talking to her was like… I think I\u2019m gonna like her. So we met up the next day, and I thought, \u2018Okay, I love her.\u2019 As time kept going, I thought she was crazy because she kept saying, \u2018I appreciate you. Thank you for your hard work.\u2019 I never had that before. Working in a factory for 27 years, I never had that. I don\u2019t know where Pam came from, but I love her. And I love that person that I am now. I didn\u2019t back in the day, but I do now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pam Birtcel, director of Bedford Builds Habitat For Humanity, saw more in Allen than what was on the surface. She saw more than Allen saw in herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photography by Ashleigh Newnes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Birtcel said, \u201cAfter moving to the bigger store location, I was struggling to do my job and run the store. So I remember one day talking to Jesus on my way to work, saying, \u2018You told me to jump and move the store, and I jumped\u2019. Now I need help, but I don\u2019t have any money for it. Two days later, a company called that represented workers\u2019 comp patients and needed low-impact volunteer work. I needed someone to do customer service and cashier [work]. Full-time free labor \u2013 I say Jesus sent her to me, so I gave her some Jesus love. After her volunteer work ended, she was hired and is now the store manager, and does a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen said, \u201cI\u2019m not a squeaky-clean person, but I\u2019ve changed a lot. Pam taught me that you\u2019re gonna have bad days, but it\u2019s okay. Somebody still cares, and somebody still loves you. At first, I thought it was just me against the world. But when I met Pam \u2013 it gives me chills to this day \u2013 somebody actually cared, loved me, and saw the good in me. I\u2019m so thankful for her taking that time with me. She took a chance on me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen frequently moved throughout her childhood but longed to have one place to call home and moved to Shelbyville when she was 12 to live with her grandparents. Although she\u2019d finally stopped moving, her life was restless and unsettled. The mother of three worked hard to provide for her children and never gave up, but something was missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birtcel didn\u2019t just give Allen a new outlook and job; she helped her become a homeowner. Through the Habitat for Humanity program, Allen put in the sweat equity and financial training and moved her family from a one-bedroom apartment to a brand-new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Birtcel stirred in Allen overflows. It\u2019s as if she\u2019s so full that she\u2019ll burst if she doesn\u2019t share or pass on the good inside her. Each person that walks through her door is important to her. She knows it\u2019s her calling to really see them, listen to them, and give them a hug if they need it. Whether it\u2019s the store\u2019s customers and employees or those that come to fulfill community service, they are all on her radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you come in here, I\u2019m giving you love. I want you to leave and give love. That\u2019s what we need. That\u2019s the only thing I want people to get from me, and I want them to give it away.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OPEN THE door of the Habitat Thrift Store just off Shelbyville\u2019s square and expect to leave with a lighter heart and a smile on your face. Drop whatever is wearing on you outside their door; it\u2019ll be gone when you come out. You may or may not make a purchase, but you\u2019ll leave with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-december"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OPEN THE door of the Habitat Thrift Store just off Shelbyville\u2019s square and expect to leave with a lighter heart and a smile on your face. Drop whatever is wearing on you outside their door; it\u2019ll be gone when you come out. You may or may not make a purchase, but you\u2019ll leave with a […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tina Neeley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tina Neeley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tina Neeley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3\"},\"headline\":\"It’s what I do.\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":694,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"December\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Feature\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/\",\"name\":\"It's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg\",\"width\":804,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/its-what-i-do\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It’s what I do.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange\",\"description\":\"Celebrating Good News, Big or Small in Shelbyville, TN\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3\",\"name\":\"Tina Neeley\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tina Neeley\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/goodnewsmags.com\\\/shelbyville\\\/author\\\/tina-neeley\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange","og_description":"OPEN THE door of the Habitat Thrift Store just off Shelbyville\u2019s square and expect to leave with a lighter heart and a smile on your face. Drop whatever is wearing on you outside their door; it\u2019ll be gone when you come out. You may or may not make a purchase, but you\u2019ll leave with a […]","og_url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/","og_site_name":"Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange","article_published_time":"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":804,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tina Neeley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tina Neeley","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/"},"author":{"name":"Tina Neeley","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/#\/schema\/person\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3"},"headline":"It’s what I do.","datePublished":"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/"},"wordCount":694,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg","keywords":["December"],"articleSection":["Feature"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/","url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/","name":"It's what I do. - Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-12-01T01:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:28:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/#\/schema\/person\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2022\/12\/DSC_6075-2-e1672329534182.jpeg","width":804,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/its-what-i-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It’s what I do."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/#website","url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/","name":"Shelbyville, TN Good News Exchange","description":"Celebrating Good News, Big or Small in Shelbyville, TN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/#\/schema\/person\/78586818dc3fabf0c7ed55f9a810efa3","name":"Tina Neeley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/77c442e8e0c8e7bb1695dca249a3870563d5e9806b113e1efbdbb7c5700ac401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tina Neeley"},"url":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/author\/tina-neeley\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=955"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24141,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions\/24141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}