MEL TOADVINE Maria Guzman holds a cake that the Kiwanis Club Thrift Store bought in her honor. From left to right are Felicia Delgado, Chuck Bergman, John Boardman, Karlene Douglas, Damon Shelor, Terry Law and Henry Gomez.

Maria Guzman, the cashier at the Kiwanis Thrift Store on Homestead Rd. is one happy woman today. She has become a U.S. citizen and is waiting for a call to attend a ceremony in Tampa with other new U.S. citizens to be sworn in.

Guzman, 52, lives in Lehigh and has been the cashier at the Thrift Store for four years. She took the citizenship test in Tampa on April 4 along with a friend, Luisa Landa of Fort Myers, who went with her to also take the citizenship test. Both passed.

“It was so really great. I was so happy,” Guzman said.

At the Thrift Store, she is regarded as family and the group got together the other day when the Kiwanis Club bought a cake to celebrate her new status as a U.S. citizen.

“I always wanted this. I love America. I am so happy,” she said over and over again with a heavy Spanish accent. She can speak both Spanish and English, which is a great asset as she helps many in Lehigh who cannot speak English when they visit the Kiwanis Thrift Store.

Maria “Olga” Guzman

Originally from Colombia, she and her husband and two children sought refuge for political reasons in 2001 and asked for permission to immigrate to the U.S. They received Green Cards and Guzman said she and her husband kept renewing them so they could become citizens. Her husband, Luis Jara became a U.S. citizen two months ago.

“He went to Tampa to take the test and he took our 16-year-old son and they both became citizens,” she said. Her husband works in the air conditioning business in Fort Myers.

Guzman said she has been studying hard with the help of the Amigo Center in Fort Myers. They work with those applying for membership by teaching them all the possibilities of what American officials will ask them when they take the test.

“They asked me about the Supreme Court, who the President was and how many people served and other questions,” she said. “I was really nervous.

“My friend, who is from Venezuela, and I went up the night before the test and got a hotel room and I had my appointment at 7:50 a.m. The man was very nice when he tested me.”

MEL TOADVINE Maria Guzman shows some of the higher end clothing at the Kiwanis Thrift Store. Many of the clothes still have original price tags on them and are selling for only a few dollars.

Her husband has returned to visit his family in Colombia because of sickness in the family. He has several members who still live in Colombia as does Olga, who said she had been back before her mother’s death to visit.

Olga and her husband also have a daughter, Laura, who is 21. She is disabled and must be cared for by her family. She attends special classes at a Goodwill charter school in Fort Myers.

Olga is a great worker at the Thrift store. Both John Boardman and Damon Shelor, members of the Kiwanis club, were at the store when the cake was brought in to celebrate Olga’s citizenship.

“She is a wonderful employee and we all love her dearly,” Boardman said.

Because of her daughter’s disability, Olga works Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. She returns home to care for her daughter who comes home from school.

MEL TOADVINE Olga Guzman is shown with two members of the Kiwanis Club, Damon Shelor, at left, and John Boardman at right.

“My 16-year-old son helps a lot, too,” she said. Luis Jr. attends East Lee County High School and is in the tenth grade.

In Colombia, Olga was a nurse for 22 years in a children’s hospital.

“I feel so completely free in America; it wasn’t always like that in Colombia,” she said.

Her boss, Henry Gomez, who has been with the Thrift Store for seven years, had good things to say about Olga.

“We all love her. She has a great personality. When she first came to the store, she couldn’t speak English and I think we all have helped her. But another employee, Vicky Rector and her work together to better her English. And Olga is helping to

MEL TOADVINE Maria Guzman works as a cashier at the thrift store. Here she helps a customer at the counter.

teach Rector Spanish. Rector has been with the Kiwanis Thrift Store for 12 years.

The Kiwanis Thrift Store is busy most of the day. During an interview with Olga, she returned to the cashier’s spot behind the counter to take payments from those who had make purchases.

“We have a lot of business here. Every day, there are many people who come here to buy things,” she said.

Henry noted that the store netted somewhere between $100,000 and $120,000 last year and all the profits go to scholarships, schools, and other causes for Lehigh. It is believed that the Thrift Store may be one of the largest benefactors for Lehigh residents.

The Thrift Store carries almost anything one can imagine. Olga said they do a lot of business with selling clothing. She said much of the clothing is new and still has tags on it. In the front of the store are several selections of “high end” clothing, gowns for the women and the like with a surprisingly low price tag.

Henry said the clientele of the Thrift Store are from all walks of life.

“It is not just for the needy, but for everyone and that is our customer base. We have very nice used items, lots of beautiful furniture, clothing, gadgets, glassware and have customers of all economic levels,” Henry said.

The Lehigh Acres Kiwanis Thrift Store is open from Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Items sold in the store, one of the largest retail stores in Lehigh, are donated from residents. When people move, they may decide to donate their furniture to the store. Others donate clothing in good condition. If you call the Thrift Store and tell them what you have, they will come and get it for you. The store’s big truck is a familiar sight in Lehigh.

“We ask that those things that are donated be in good condition. We only accept things are in good shape. If it is not something a person would want in their home, we won’t sell it. All that we carry is good merchandise,” Henry said.

And Olga couldn’t agree more.

“This is a great store to shop in. Everyone is so friendly here. We enjoy seeing people coming in. We have almost everything you can think of, TVs, computers, gadgets, lawn mowers, very nice dinnerware, books, and on and on,” Olga said.

If you’re in the neighborhood of the Thrift Store, stop in and congratulate Olga for her gaining her U.S. citizenship.

“I’m a citizen. I am so happy,” she said.