DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709160283

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   75 lines

THRIFT STORES BRING JOBS, GOODS TO NEEDY

Kim Parks has little time to spare as she hangs used clothing and helps customers in Goodwill Industries' new 16,000-square-foot store in Suffolk Plaza Shopping Center.

But recently, she got another task: to teach her co-workers sign language.

``Kim does a great job here,'' said store manager Robin Klau. ``She's very reliable, very capable. And she's very good at reading lips. But, once in a while, she'll miss something. We all want to communicate better with her.''

Parks, of Suffolk, has been deaf since age 3. It was caused by encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.

She'd worked elsewhere before Suffolk's Goodwill store opened Aug. 7, Klau said, but she has gained self-confidence in an atmosphere focusing on helping people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or economically.

Kim, hired as a part-timer, ``already worked her way into full time,'' said Assistant Manager Emily Reed. ``This is a safe environment for the disabled. We like to say they can leave their disabilities at home.''

Goodwill Industries, started in Boston in 1902 as an opportunity for the unemployed to work toward independence, is expanding in Hampton Roads as a retail enterprise.

With the Suffolk store and another new one to open this week on Little Creek Road, across from Norfolk's Southern Shopping Center, local outlets will increase to nine. There is one in every Hampton Roads city, including the Peninsula, and two in both Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

And Goodwill is fast becoming an important steppingstone in welfare reform, said Katherine Overcamp, communications director for Goodwill Industries of Hampton Roads Inc. ``Even our volunteers can take the work experience they get here and go forward.''

In Norfolk, where the local housing authority recently started requiring public housing residents to volunteer at least 20 hours a year, Goodwill has been a solution for many, Overcamp said.

And the nonprofit organization could soon provide opportunities for welfare recipients.

On Oct. 1, about 8,000 Hampton Roads residents will be told to get a job within 90 days or work 20 hours a week for no pay to keep their welfare benefits in place. They must also make 30 job-search contacts a week.

Goodwill, with its local headquarters and job training center on Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, can offer that opportunity. In addition, Overcamp said, volunteers get discounts on the stores' merchandise.

Proceeds from the sale of the donated goods go toward the job training program and toward paying Goodwill's employees.

``We're seeing an increasing need,'' Overcamp said. ``The interest in thrift stores has helped us to expand our services, and it comes at a very good time.''

Goodwill has been in Hampton Roads since 1925, providing jobs, education, vocational training and job placement programs. The organization served nearly 5,000 Virginians in 1996 and generated more than $40 million in revenue.

The largest group of people served by Goodwill are those with vocational disadvantages such as welfare dependency, illiteracy, a history of incarceration or past substance abuse. The organization tries to maintain a balance of at least 50 percent disabled employees, Overcamp said.

In the Suffolk ``Superthrift'' Store, second in size only to one in Virginia Beach, only a handful of the 16 employees so far are physically disabled, the store manager said. If business continues at its current volume, Klau said, they are likely to hire more workers.

``Volunteers, of course, are always welcomed,'' she said. ``We've been very pleased with the support so far from this community. Business has been increasing daily, and donations have been good here in Suffolk, too.''

The Suffolk store is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Donations are accepted daily and on Saturday until 8 p.m., and on Sunday until 5:30 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Store manager Robin Klau, left, works with employee Kim Parks, who

is deaf, at the new Goodwill Industries store at Suffolk Shopping

Plaza.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu