Almost a year ago, the Pettis County Community Partnership started a donation-based free store in the State Fair Shopping Center.
Director John Thompson said that when he joined PCCP last summer, the donations used to be in the partnership area and took up a lot of room.
“So when I took over, I said, ‘How important is this?’” Thompson said. “They called it the Free Store at that time. I got that ‘look,’ so it’s important.”
Thompson said they needed to do something different, so the store was moved to a vacant area, which PCCP was already paying for, to utilize space better.
“That opened us this front foyer over here and that made it less congested,” Thompson said. “We were able to put in a computer for people to come in and work on.”
With the open foyer, the PCCP was able to display art from State Fair Community College and local school districts.
“We just recently had (a post) on Facebook called ‘name the store,’” Thompson said. “One of our staff came up with the name Give and Take and that’s what we decided to go with.”
The store allows people to donate things that somebody else needs. January through June this year, it received 1,582 walk-ins looking for items.
The store is also an AARP host site. People who are 55 and older and on social security can work a certain number of hours and receive a paycheck, which does not affect their social security.
“They can work here for five months and then they have to transition into something else..” Thompson said. “We occasionally have volunteers that come in help and we also have people that need community service hours.”
Thompson said the store has been great for the community, especially those in need. It offers kitchen items, clothing, hygiene products and occasionally, some food.
The store is free to the public, but people are asked only to take what they need from the store. There are no requirements for people to shop at the store, which provides opportunities for people who have suffered unfortunate events, young people needing professional dress wear, homeless people looking for new clothes, people recently released from incarceration, and anyone else in need of some assistance.
“People will bring in donations, then the volunteers and workers will go through and clean things off, then place items throughout the store,” Thompson said. “Then they are constantly going through and keeping things clean and sanitizing things.”
Along with this, the store allows shoppers to take one dose of Narcan in case of uncertain events.
Give and Take is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 1400 S. Limit Ave. Suite 28A.
