ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110076
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
A new business in the Roanoke Valley is aiming its services at people who are homebound but need things from a store.
The business is GOLDEN G0-FORS, operated by Shannon Toomey, owner, and Stephanie Terry, secretary.
"I go out and get anything people want and bring it to them," Toomey said.
At first, the service was directed toward elderly and disabled people, Toomey said, but now she's also getting calls from single parents with babies.
"Some of them don't have time to get to the store," she said, "or they don't want to take the child out."
Toomey said the business, which started in February and averages three or four calls a week, is a natural extension of their own lives.
Terry is visually impaired and cannot drive, so she needs someone to run errands for her.
"I've been giving this kind of service to Stephanie for a long time," Toomey said.
"And I'm constantly pestering her to stop by the store to bring me something I need," Terry said.
They have been friends since their student days at Patrick Henry High School. They attended Radford University together, earning degrees in psychology. They also share the same quarters in Roanoke County.
Because of the help Toomey has given Terry over the years, Toomey said they thought there must be other people with the same need.
"And it's been fun," Toomey said. "People have been very appreciative, and it makes me feel good to help them."
To publicize the business, the two distributed fliers to nursing homes in the Tanglewood area, where they live. Also, they sought referrals from agencies that deal with elderly and disabled people.
Additionally, they offer a pet-sitting service.
GOLDEN GO-FORS' first call was from a single mother caring for her premature baby, who couldn't be taken outdoors.
Getting the business established, Toomey said, cost about $140 in one-time charges for a business license, registering the company name to protect it, a business telephone line and a cellular phone. In addition, they pay about $65 a month for telephone service.
No special insurance or bonding was required, Toomey said, because they pay for merchandise themselves and then collect from the customer at delivery.
Both have other jobs, and that income is helping GOLDEN GO-FORS meet ongoing expenses until it gets on a stronger financial footing.
Terry, 25, who answers the phone and takes orders, is a disc jockey at radio stations WSLQ/WSLC; Toomey, 26, who does the deliveries, is a pharmacy technician.
A trip to a grocery store varies from $2 to $10 depending on the number of items. A five-item trip is $2 and a 60-plus item run is $10.
The cost for picking up prescriptions, banking or other errands runs about $2 to $3.
They have restrictions, however. They don't handle anything that the Post Office or parcel delivery companies might handle, and they require IDs to pick up alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
Pet-sitting prices range from $3 for one stop per day to $14 a day for 24-hour sitting.
The service also seems to have a romance with the numerals five and seven, with a smattering of six.
It started on Feb. 5; the business license number is mostly fives; and the first call netted $5. The telephone number has all sevens and sixes, and the hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"This was all a coincidence," Toomey said.
"I asked the telephone company for a simple number," Terry said, "and this was what we got."
GOLDEN GO-FORS
P.O. Box 21542
Roanoke 24018
776-7676
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB