SERVICE
A COMMON THREAD By Felicia Carter
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f you travel to Mt. Vernon, KY and walk into the Grateful Threadz thrift store, you can expect to be greeted as soon as you walk through the door. Since 2008, the staff and volunteers have been building an environment that thrives off of building relationships. There are many services offered to the families of Rockcastle County by Grateful Threadz. Vouchers are provided for families that experience emergency situations, such as loss of a home due to fire, flood, or other natural disasters. This also opens the door to other CAP programs, where the staff can then refer those families in crisis to other programs and agencies for additional assistance. But anyone can shop at Grateful Threadz; it is open to the public and draws customers from all over the county, as well as visitors from various parts of Kentucky and even other parts of the nation. “It usually starts with simply exchanging pleasantries, discussing the weather, and moves right into talking about their families. Eventually we’ll find ourselves arranging
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outfits that we agree would look good together,” Carolyn Lindsey, manager of the Grateful Threadz thrift store, explains about the importance of getting to know the participants. “The relationships we build are what keep the participants coming back.”
“I think that is the basis of all CAP programs--building those strong relationships with the participants.” As a result, participants have grown to love the level of interaction that comes along with shopping there – so
THE MOUNTAIN SPIRIT | 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue Volume 1
