Press Release about the Thrift Store

DECATUR, Ala. — There’s a new store coming to southeast Decatur, and shoppers can look forward to supporting a valuable mission as they hunt for bargains.

Everyday Sunshine is a local nonprofit organization working with GraceLife Church to open a thrift store to employ adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

According to Everyday Sunshine Director Jeff Sharp, this project has been a few years in the making, but the motivation was sparked by his daughter, Amelie, who has physical and intellectual disabilities.

“When Amelie started attending the ARC of Morgan County, we met other parents of children with disabilities,” Sharp said. “One of the main concerns that they all shared was, ‘What is my child going to do when they finish school?’”

According to the Department of Labor, the national unemployment rate for adults with an intellectual or developmental disability is 79% of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities are either unemployed or out of the workforce.

“My wife, Andrea, and I started looking around the country to see what other communities are doing to solve this problem and found several organizations who opened businesses to specifically train and employ adults with different needs,” Sharp said. “These include places like Bitty and Beau’s Coffee shops and Howdy Homemade Ice Cream — but one place really caught our attention, and that was Our Thrift in Franklin, Tennessee.”

Sharp contacted Our Thrift Store’s founder, Dave Krikac, and went up to tour the store and learn more about the organization. Now, he’s prepping for his own thrift store adventures.

The original site for the store that Sharp had his eye on was unavailable, so he approached GraceLife Church to ask if they would be willing to share some of their space to support his efforts for the community. The church not only agreed to share the space but is allowing Sharp to renovate its 5,000-square-foot fellowship hall to prepare for its new purpose by better accommodating wheelchairs and other needs of those with physical disabilities.

“We rejoice in sharing our space for the creation of a place that serves those in the community with disabilities,” said Pastor Orville Collins of GraceLife. “We’re excited to see the impact that will happen through this new opportunity within our city and church.”

The Everyday Sunshine Thrift Store will concentrate on a few items including clothing, houseware and collectibles — excluding for the moment furniture and electronics, as the store’s employees may have disabilities that are not conducive to moving and/or repairing these items. The store will employ eight adults on a part-time basis, and Sharp hopes to increase that number in time.

“The problem won’t be finding people who want to work; it’ll be creating enough jobs,” he said. “Our goal is to be an inclusive, public environment for them to gain experience, a sense of purpose and take steps toward independence.”

In addition to employing adults, the thrift store will serve as a work co-op for students from Decatur High School’s AIM Developmental Program, where students will work with job coaches to learn job and social skills that will help them enter into the workforce.

“Enabling students with disabilities to enter the workforce provides them with a sense of purpose and an opportunity to prove themselves,” said Nancy Adams, the unit supervisor at the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, which is facilitating the partnership between the school and the store. “We look forward to many success stories.” 

Briana Horton, the head of Decatur High’s AIM program, said she looks forward to a new opportunity for her students to grow.

“One of our goals at AIM DHS is to teach all students the skills they need to have a meaningful future,” she said. “The thrift store would provide a place to practice these skills in a safe, real-world environment, all while providing a service to our community.”

The estimate to renovate the store is $55,000 so Everyday Sunshine is looking for people to invest in this mission.  They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so donations are tax-deductible. Sharp shared that 100% of the store’s profits will go back into the organization, allowing it to create more jobs as it grows.

For more information, visit www.EverydaySunshineThrift.com.

You can donate on the website or by sending a check to : Everyday Sunshine

                                                                                             1311 19th Avenue  S.E.

                                                                                             Decatur, AL 35601

Jeff Sharp

256-318-2830

everydaysunshinemail@gmail.com