Not long after the doors had opened in the Wednesday morning sunshine and shoppers began filtering into the Arc of Montgomery County Thrift Store in Wheaton, a cluster of women marched up the wheelchair-accessible ramp, swung open the door and made a beeline straight to the back room.
Having volunteered at the Arc of Montgomery County's only thrift store practically every day since it opened in February, the women knew exactly what to do.
"I help with baby clothes," said Rockville resident Mary Byrne, who has an intellectual disability. "I put the size on and tag them and put them on a hanger."
The Arc of Montgomery County Thrift Store, which held its official grand opening last week, is the organization's first thrift store in the county.
In addition to providing valuable job skills for people such as Byrne, the proceeds that come from the sale of donated clothes, small furniture and house-wares benefit the Arc, one of the world's largest community-based organizations for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In Montgomery County, the proceeds mostly benefit Arc's vocational program, which trains people with disabilities in practical jobs such as lawn care and secretarial duties, said Kevin Trostle, the assistant director of business and contract services for the Arc of Montgomery County.
The real-world practice gives people with disabilities and independence, said Beverly Bailey, a job coach with the Arc of Montgomery County who works with the women volunteers at the thrift store.
But a more immediate benefit than the job skills is the interaction the thrift store provides her with the rest of the world, said volunteer and Gaithersburg resident Ayeisha Levy.
"l'm not in my room laying around, sleeping," said Levy, who also has an intellectual disability.
Volunteering for an hour or two every day at the thrift store might be the only organized activity many people with disabilities have all day, Trostle said.
"Instead of sitting at home by themselves, they're coming in here, interacting with customers," he said.
And since the store's opening, customers seem to filter in on a fairly regular basis from the Wheaton neighborhood, said store manager Julie Marquette, who said the clothes, which cost about $2 or $3, also serve the community in Wheaton.
Since the Salvation Army store located a few blocks away closed due to a 2008 fire in the shopping center, Marquette said Wheaton residents haven't had a second-hand shop within the immediate area.
Marquette said the store has been popular with Latinos, many of whom walk or take the bus to shop. She's even printed welcome signs and labels in Spanish and English, she said.
As she spoke, a man who was panhandling on the corner of University Boulevard and Veirs Mill Road ducked into the store to purchase a pair of jeans before slipping back out into the blazing sun.
Trostle said the interface among different groups of people helps take some of the stigma off disabled people, whom he called "the last, most discriminated group in the country."
Including them in the rest of the world is what he said Arc is all about—"to find all the members of society a part of society."
The Arc of Montgomery County Thrift Store is located in downtown Wheaton at 2658 University Blvd. The store is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. To volunteer at the store, send an e-mail to arcthriftstore@yahoo.com or call 301-933-5666. Donations are always welcome; customers can drop off donations at the store anytime it's open. The store is in particular need of small furniture and house goods.
