VERO BEACH — Imagine a place where Homeless Family Center residents can become more employable as the result of receiving retail training through a Retail Apprenticeship program.
By being more employable, they could get jobs faster, save money faster, exit HFC faster, and open the door to one of the 55 qualified families on the HFC waiting list. Sounds like a dream, but it isn’t.
A Second Chance Thrift Store & Training Center, located at 490 Old Dixie Hwy. in Vero Beach, will be such a place when it opens its doors for business at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, with a grand opening community celebration.
The public is encouraged to come and join in the celebration. There will be music, food, and bargains galore.
Come join the celebration on Nov. 10 as the doors swing open to give both the residents of the Homeless Family Center and our gently used treasures a Second Chance.
A Second Chance Thrift Store & Training Center is a sales center that utilizes a thrift store as a platform where shopping will create retail sales training, job training, and entrepreneur opportunities for the families residing at the Homeless Family Center. Just as it provides used goods with a second chance, it will provide our homeless families with a second chance.
A Second Chance Thrift Store & Training Center will be unique in our community in that HFC residents will get hands-on experience through participation in the Retail Apprenticeship Training program.
The program will teach important values, social and interpersonal skills, self-worth, and provide guidance to economic self-sufficiency. Taught by Marsha Thompson of Indian River State College, the inaugural Retail Apprenticeship Training Program commenced Saturday, Sept. 15.
“A Second Chance is providing our homeless families with a second chance to get back on their feet. It is a significant step forward toward ending homelessness among families,” according to HFC Program Director Lori Tomlinson, who has been instrumental in the development of the Retail Apprenticeship Program in collaboration with Indian River State College.
The goal is to train 70 adults and teens each year.
You can help support the families at HFC and A Second Chance by shopping at the store, giving your gently used items a second chance by donating them to the store for resale, or by volunteering.
A Second Chance Thrift Store will happily arrange a pickup of your larger items by calling (772) 492-9333.
The list of items that A Second Chance Training and Thrift Store will accept for donations is wide and varied. Other than the requirement that they be in good condition, use your imagination. We will gladly accept any of the following:
Housewares, jewelry, shoes, knick-knacks
Glassware, kitchenware, lamps, sporting goods
Furniture, movie and music CDs, toys
Women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing
Books, both paperback and hardback, art prints and frames
A Second Chance Thrift Store & Training Center will enable the Homeless Family Center, a United Way agency, to continue to fulfill its mission to change lives one family at a time.
For more information and/or the volunteer application, please visit the website at www.HomelessFamilyCenter.com or call (772) 492-9333.
