If you use the Atrium as your customary way of getting into Church, you may have already noticed a little extra excitement on 2nd Sunday mornings. For a year or so this has been the day we collect clothes donations for one of our partner ministries, StepUp Greensboro.
StepUp is a job preparedness program which takes folks a little down on their luck, who are looking for a hand up, not just a hand out, and puts them through a week-long course of resume’ writing and interview skills training. The participants also receive training from business professionals on how to keep a job once one in landed. And then, at the end of the week, the clients, for their interview, are allowed to pick out an appropriate business outfit from the clothes that have been donated.
StepUp has had an impressive degree of success in helping people get hired for jobs and to retain those jobs for at least a year. Our clothes donations, and those from other sources, have been very successful, too. So much so that StepUP has opened a store, called Encore!
As Encore! gets more business and becomes profitable, those profits will go to support StepUp so the Ministry will become less dependent on funds from other sources.
And, yes, Encore! Is open to the public. The selection in the store is impressive. The last time I was there to deliver the clothes donated the previous Sunday, that very morning I had had to do laundry only because I had run out of casual shirts. As I passed through the men’s section, three very nice shirts, one of which had a Jos. A. Bank label, jumped off the shelf at me. At check out, my total was $17. What a bargain! Or, if you donate something and change your mind, you can go to Encore! and buy it back at a very reasonable price.
More information on StepUp Greensboro – http://stepupgreensboro.org
Encore! accepts donations of gently used clothing, shoes and accessories:
- Classic recycled clothing and shoes for the family
- Business casual & professional for men & women
- Children’s clothing for all ages
- Location: Golden Gate Village on Cornwallis Dr – between N. Elm St & Church St
by Charles Hartis
Nice job, Charles! Also, if anyone at FBC would like to join our Step Up ministry team, please contact me or Charles. We also help feed lunch to the class participants once a month, and we are also looking for folks to help mentor participants, provide jobs, and help with life skills courses.