By Rita Shirley LeBleu
Don’t call the Community Outreach Center at 1006 E. Fourth St. a thrift store even though thrifty shoppers find bargains there every Tuesday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.
“It’s actually a food pantry,” said Judy Moore who co-directs the Center with her husband Bill. “We get most of our food from Feeding America Second Harvest. We sell the clothes, and everything else you see here to pay for additional food.”
“Everything else” includes women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and shoes. Name brand women’s pants and blouses go for $2 each, just one example of the low, low prices. The Center also offers some decor, books, CDs, DVDs, household and other goods.
Sales helps pay operational expenses such as electricity and water. All workers volunteer their time, including the Moores.
Twelve years ago the church was looking for someone to run the Center, according to Judy Moore.
“God said do it,” Moore said. “I was working full time as a teacher, retired and took it over.”
When Bill was able to retire, from a financial standpoint, he did so and began helping.
The Center distributes 130 food boxes on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month. It gives away free homemade laundry soap, made, bottled and provided by Hargrove Pentecostal Church. It helps Teen Challenge, a faith-based, non-profit organization that focuses on helping individuals struggling with addiction by donating some of the clothing donated to the Center.
Though the Center is food-pantry focused, Moore’s most vivid memory of its impact in the community is the day a homeless couple came in. By partnering with other individuals and groups, the young man, and eventually the young woman found jobs and housing.
What the Community Outreach Center has not been able to do – so far – is open more than 1/2 day during the week. Moore said an attempt was made to open the store on Saturdays so that people who work during the week can shop, but there have been challenges in recruiting Saturday volunteers.
Volunteer, apply for food box, donate
Volunteers give of their time for a myriad of reasons. Connie Koonce, Regina Davenport and Tiffany Stanley’s responses to what makes them willing to give their Tuesday mornings to the Community Outreach Center were similar. God has blessed them and they want to bless others. Bessie Bagwell likes to visit. Gloria Doyle was previously employed at a bank that urges its employees to make a difference in their communities. She started volunteering at the Community Outreach Center. Even after the bank transitioned to a new owner, she continued to do so. Now, she’s retired and still volunteering. Marcia Hammock and Rebecca Ross claim their calling is providing comic relief. Hammock tries on everything and models it, the more outlandish the better for laughs.
Volunteers come from different churches and backgrounds. Some are court ordered to perform community service. High school Beta Club members have volunteered at the Center.
Tasks include sorting and displaying donated items, organizing the food distribution area, working the register and taking applications for the food boxes.
Applicants should bring an ID, proof of income and proof of address/residence. Decisions are based on income.
The donor bin is located outside the building. Make sure the donated items are in good shape. That means not dirty, stained, broken, etc.
Two of the most unusual donations were found in purses. One had several hundred dollars in it and the individual who donated it had already left and there was no getting in contact with him so we benefited from that donation Moore said. The Center did not, however, benefit from the marijuana found in a purse from a separate donation.
“We threw it away,” Moore said.
