THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411010107
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
It was an odd sort of place, nestled in the shadow of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway.
Looking like the 7-Eleven it once was, the sign over the door read ``C.O.P.S.,'' for ``Chaplain's Organization Police, Sheriffs.''
Inside, the shelves were lined not with convenience foods and soft drinks but with shoes, clothing and other donated items. There were no price tags. Everything was free to those who needed it.
For 18 months, it served those needy, helping them to cope with poverty, fires, domestic problems and other personal emergencies. But on Saturday, the ``COPS Store'' closed its doors for the last time.
Christina Harrison, 15, a ninth-grader at Green Run High School, was working as a volunteer on the last day. A chaplain friend had suggested that she help out at the store and she'd been doing so for two weeks. ``I think it's sad (that it's closing) because where's everybody going to go now?'' The store, she said, helped a lot of needy people.
Virginia Beach Master Police Officer Mickie Goss had founded it in April 1993, and he was there at the end, taking down signs from the windows and overseeing the removal of merchandise to such places as the Union Mission.
``In the end, we just didn't have enough donations to keep it open,'' Goss explained. ``Things got tight. I could've hired a telephone solicitor to raise money, because it's out there, but I said in the beginning that I wanted to do it so that everything we received went to the needy. And it can be done; it worked for a year and a half.''
Goss recounted how the store, a joint venture of the city Police and Sheriff's departments and the Community Relations Chaplain Association Inc. started out by gathering and distributing produce from the city's farmers. With an all-volunteer staff and minimal budget the operation expanded to include all items of value to those in need.
``Hotels at the Beach donated mattresses, refrigerators, stoves and more,'' Goss recalled. ``I have no idea of the total volume. But if you could fit everything that's gone through this store in a dozen tractor trailers, I'd be surprised. And that's conservative.''
Keren Taylor shared her thoughts about the closing as she browsed the aisles. ``I thought it was pretty bad when I heard about it,'' she said. ``My mother donates here. I like the store; they've helped me out a lot. I have a daughter and a baby on the way.''
Connie Casiano, a volunteer, was in charge of all the clothing that came into the COPS Store. ``We're really going to miss this place,'' she reflected as she prepared to end her shift for the last time. ``I'll probably volunteer someplace else, but the community needs this place. They really need it.''
The store had operated as part of the chaplain's association, enabling it to use the association's tax-exempt status, making donations to the store tax deductible. ``But we became larger than what the chaplain's organization could handle,'' said Goss. ``We needed our own tax-exempt organization. The fees (to set it up) would break this place in a week or so. The money needed to keep us open was less than $1,000 a month. We had enough to shut down and not owe anyone. We're leaving responsibly.''
An anonymous shopper, browsing among a shelf of knick knacks, didn't want her name used - ``and don't put my picture in the newspaper.'' But she willingly offered that ``I hate to see this store close. It's helped me out a lot and they've really been good to me.''
The rent and insurance are paid through April 1995. Goss explained that commitments have been made to the store's ``customers'' for Thanksgiving items and Christmas things, such as toys for children. These commitments, he insists, will be fulfilled. ``And emergencies,'' he added. ``If someone is burned out in a fire, I'll come down here and re-open the store. It just won't be open to the public anymore.''
Is there a chance it might re-open again if additional donors are found? ``It would take a miracle,'' responded Goss. ``But I believe in miracles and I believe in the power of prayer.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DAWSON MILLS
Customers browse the C.O.P.S. store for clothes on the last day.
by CNB