RACINE — A Racine video game store owner said her shop would be closed without the help of volunteers keeping her business alive.
"I would not be in business," said Camarano, owner of Level Up Racine Video Game Store and Lounge.
When I first visited Level Up Racine at the end of 2023, business was more robust. Since then, sales have significantly declined, and the store now relies entirely on volunteers who donate their time to keep the doors open.
"They've been instrumental in helping the store make money," said Camarano.
Seven volunteers currently help run the store, including Alex Pawlowski and Mark Tumeo. They ensure customers can continue to buy, sell, trade, and play video games and board games at the location. There are multiple Xboxs, PlayStations, and Nintendo Switches hooked up to various televisions for kids to play on. There is also a tabletop gaming area for board games and card games.
"It's cool to have a place where you can actually go and play video games," said Pawlowski.
The volunteers handle all aspects of the business—running the cash register, organizing inventory, interacting with customers, and even learning to repair gaming consoles on the job.
"I started repairing stuff all of a sudden, like, oh my god, I can fix this. I can fix this now, and it's really that easy," said Tumeo.
Watch how dedicated gamers work for free to keep video game store Level Up Racine open...
These volunteers perform the duties of regular employees without compensation, motivated solely by their belief in the store's value to the community.
"This place is really one of those places where you can go, and it can be a destination and not just a store that you spend 5 minutes in," said Pawlowski.
At one point, the shop, which opened in 2020, specifically employed local high school students to teach them valuable job skills. It was a way for Camarano to help Racine teenagers develop customer service and accounting skills. On week days, the shop is mainly open after school, so that kids can go there and have a safe space to stay out of any potential trouble.
"Kids just want to feel like they matter, they’re important, they exist, and they really want to be productive," Camarano said in a 2023 interview.
Camarano has partnered with multiple organizations in Racine to make a bigger impact. She has donated game consoles to individual children and the Racine Police Department to help with their outreach efforts. She also donated a basketball hoop and televisions to the department. Camarano has worked with the city's parks and recreation department and the library.
Despite being a multi-faceted business with deep connections in the community, the store is still struggling. Level Up isn't alone either. Within a one-block radius of the store, multiple vacant storefronts stand as evidence of the challenging business environment. Camarano remains committed to keeping her shop open, viewing it as more than just a personal business venture.
"I think about the volunteers and I think about the people that come here, the kids that come in, and then I realize it's not mine. It's a social hub, a community hub. It belongs to the community," said Camarano.
Looking ahead, Camarano plans to continue relying on her volunteers while hoping to eventually establish a profit-sharing program with them when the store's finances improve.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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