A woman pushing a walker expresses gratitude as someone opens for her to enter the Family & Children’s Services (FCS) Thrift Store to do some afternoon shopping. She later arrives at the counter and purchases a few items.
“This is for my granddaughter,” she says as she heads to the door. Other customers continue to browse furniture, clothing, accessories and the small appliance sections throughout the store.
The business model of thrift stores isn’t new to most people, as they are utilized more than ever during an uncertain economy. But the FCS Thrift Store is more than just a business. It is a place for people of recovery to find a glimmer of hope – whether it leads to employment or the discovery of essential items needed to furnish a forever home.
“Since the pandemic, our volume has increased a lot,” said store manager Alyssa O’Connor. “We used to do donation pickups four days a week, but because of labor, we had to reduce it to two days a week. Once we bring the product in, then we must have the labor to put it out on the floor. We receive the most donations during the summer, and our donors are very generous.”
The FCS Thrift Store’s three-part mission is supporting FCS programs, providing work and volunteer opportunities for FCS and Women in Recovery (WIR) clients and giving goods to FCS clients in need. Since 2017, WIR has been an integral part of the thrift store’s success. WIR volunteers help sort through donations, clean the store, hang up and arrange clothing and perform other tasks as designated by store management.
“We have a minimum requirement for work hours, and so the thrift store has always been welcoming to have our participants come in and help,” said WIR volunteer coordinator MC Bradley. “The thrift store is somewhere that they feel comfortable and somewhere that they can rely on getting their hours needed to complete the program.”
“Obtaining this experience is like the service industry because they’re working with a team and they’re working in retail, but they’re getting a holistic experience. Being grateful is a huge part of recovery, and the thrift store is a huge piece of helping them get into that mindset.”
For many WIR participants, the thrift store is their first volunteer opportunity, and they learn essential skills necessary to help them land the next job opportunity.
“Volunteering is part of WIR programming, and so it was important to Mimi (Tarrasch) from the beginning to introduce that principle to participants,” Bradley said. “One thing we say to our participants is that in your addiction, you may have a spot where you needed something from the community, and Tulsa is so giving and generous that being a volunteer is a way to say thank you.”
O’Connor and assistant store manager Tara Bjornson are both WIR graduates who work for the thrift store. O’Connor said the connection between the thrift store and WIR participants has grown into a mutual sisterhood as participants navigate through the steps of recovery. Having crucial conversations with participants helps them relinquish old behaviors and embrace new beginnings.
“I also came through the program; Tara came through the program so we can relate to WIR participants,” she said. “It’s really such a blessing to have them. I love the connection there. They learn a lot of work skills here.”
Bjornson agreed. “The thrift store helps them get back into what working is like and to take pride in themselves and working hard and what they do to feel accomplished,” she said. “We try to let them know that we appreciate their hard work.”
O’Connor said the same rules WIR participants learn through the program apply when they come to the thrift store. Not everyone is hired to work at the thrift store, but the experiences they learn at the thrift store led them to other job opportunities.
Some who donate goods may not know the importance and impact of the FCS Thrift Store in the community, but Bjornson is slowly changing that. She shared her story with a donor who revealed she had two family members who are WIR graduates and are reunited with their children. The teary-eyed donor had no idea about the connection between WIR and the thrift store and promised to give more to the store in the future.
“The experience just solidifies the purpose because I think our society gets so overwhelmed, I guess with life, and they don’t think about ‘oh you know, it’s more than just dropping off a bag of clothes’; it’s saving someone’s life,” Bjornson said.
