Lakeview thrift shop offers a helping hand

SOAP LAKE - Sally Gordon is enthusiastic when describing her work at Community Cents, a thrift shop in Lakeview.

Gordon, 49, of Coulee City, smiles as she dusts a shelf full of knickknacks.

"I like to find all of the treasures," she said. "You find a treasure and you want to have it."

Her duties also include waiting on customers, sorting donations and stocking shelves.

She's worked at the shop since it opened earlier this year.

The shop provides training and assessments for those with disabilities and focus issues, and provides affordable thrift shop items to the community.

Manager Judy Argo said she started the shop because employment contractor Service Alternatives needed an assessment and training site for workers.

Assessments range from 15 to 90 days. During that time, Argo examines how an individual does working in the thrift shop.

The assessment includes measuring a worker's comprehension level, reading and writing skills, aggressiveness, how one takes criticism, lifting capacity, endurance and if they enjoy working.

The workers seem to thrive well in thrift store environments. They can't make any serious mistakes that cannot be taken care of.

Customers are generally happy and laid back, as they're visiting the store to find treasurers.

"The community is very, very supportive," Argo commented.

Employees and volunteers work as a team and seem to be excited about being there, she noted.

Once the store starts making a profit, Argo plans to give proceeds to McKay Healthcare and Rehab Center, Soap Lake Food Bank and Soap Lake Senior Center.

"It's fun every day," Argo said. "It probably gives me more warm fuzzies to work here every day of my life."

As she tapes together a cardboard box to hold small, glass chess pieces, supervisor Josie Stevens said her job gives her a reason to give up in the morning.

"To me, this is like Christmas day," Stevens, of Ephrata, said. "You never know what donations you get."

In past jobs, she's trained people and worked with the mentally challenged.

She quit her jobs to raise her granddaughter, now 13.

Now back in the work force, Stevens realizes the store is doing something the community and the operation tries to keep prices as low as possible.

Dianna Doles, a volunteer from Ephrata, speaks well of her co-workers.

"I love them a lot," Doles says.

Terry Eley, program manager with Service Alternatives, which provides the workers to businesses, explains how businesses receive tax credits for employing a person with a cognitive or physical disability.

Employers benefit from tax credits of up to $9,000 in the worker's first two years of employment.

Also, businesses hiring unemployed workers after Feb. 3, 2010 before Jan. 1, 2011 can receive a 6.2 percent payroll tax incentive. It means they do not have to pay Social Security taxes on wages provided after March 18, 2010, according to provisions of the federal Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.

Service Alternatives keeps in touch with workers and employers with on-site visits for a range of work place events, including employee reviews, job changes or when an employee is given a written reprimand.

Service Alternatives also helps workers find transportation to work, by figuring out the bus schedule or if they qualify for rides from the organization People for People.

"The goal is to make them independent," she said.

Employees have worked in a variety of positions, including the areas of retail, production and janitorial and as a fork lift driver, restaurant worker, secretary and receptionist.

Adriana Ohrazda, employment specialist with Service Alternatives, said it's important for them to make it a "win-win situation."

"We will never put them in a place that's (not) supportive," Ohrazda said.

Another employment specialist, Sean Frields, said once a job seeker finds work, they want to keep their new position.

Service Alternatives also assists employers with paperwork to receive their tax credits.

For more information, visit www.servalt.com or call 509-855-1905.

Community Cents' hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. To donate used items, call 509-289-2650. The store is located at 188 state Route 28, Soap Lake.