Downtown bookstore offers jobs to disabled young adults
Thanks to Carolyn Crist for the use of her article on this page.
ccrist@gainesvilletimes.com
These books are ripe for the picking.
In a cozy corner of the Main Street Market on the downtown Gainesville
square, a new used bookstore is opening up to give jobs to young
adults with disabilities.
All the books are on the shelves, workers are ready to go and a
handful of customers have trickled into the store to preview the
newest addition to the market.
Next Chapter Book Store is the newest outreach program of Our
Neighbor, an organization that offers housing on Prior Street and
opportunities for physically handicapped men and women. The bookstore
comes from the brains of Our Neighbor founder Marty Owens and
volunteer D’ete Sewell, previous owner of Ralph Waldo’s Vintage
Bookstore in Gillsville.
“We had nowhere for these guys to work, and the only thing I know is
books,” Sewell said. “So I started asking for donations and looked
around for a place to put the books.”
The plans have been years in the works. The group bought property near
downtown Gainesville in December 2008 to restore a 1930s-era house
into a bookstore and coffee shop, but Gainesville’s Public Utilities
Department needed the property to replace the storm drain and sewer
line underneath it. There was no way to replace the utilities without
removing the house, so Our Neighbor went on another search for a place
to open business.
Sewell contacted her friend Ronda Sailors, owner of The Bookstand in
Northeast Georgia, and shipped off some of their donated books to
sell. Sailors split sales of the books with Our Neighbor, and the guys
spent time sorting through donated books, categorizing them and
pricing them.
Recently, Debra Harkrider, owner of the Main Street Market building,
offered a donation of her own — a reduced rent to help the group make
the longtime dream a reality.
“Now the guys can interact, have lunch, get around town and talk to
people who come in,” Sewell said. “It helps Gainesville residents to
get used to being around people with disabilities, too.”
The largest donation came from Frances Mathis — 2,000 books from her
husband James Mathis’ library. The workers sorted through the books
and sell ones worth more than $30 online. Sewell was amazed by his
collection of books about Georgia, the South and Native Americans.
“I walked in and saw the collection, and the guys told me to close my
mouth,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just amazing because you don’t
get to be around books like that. It really helped the quality of our
stock.”
Next Chapter also received donations from Lanier Village Estates and
is collaborating with Interactive Neighborhood for Kids to sell
children’s books.
The bookstore is separated into nonfiction categories — gardening,
cookbooks, sports, pets, pregnancy, biography, politics and more — and
various fiction genres.
“This room is small and cozy and gives the guys a place to be,” said
Vicki Sims, a member of the Our Neighbor program committee. “I like
the quietness. You can come in and find your place and a book.”
The young men working in the store are happy to have some purpose.
“I’ve been working the cash register, pricing books and shelving books
by their categories,” said Mark McIntire, 24. “It’s going slowly but
surely, and it gives me something to do during the day. I like helping
out.”
For some of the workers, it’s their first job.
“Right now, I’m helping to get things going and helping the guys on
the computer, or whatever needs to be done,” said Brian Jones, 42,
while placing books on shelves Thursday. “We want these guys to know
how to keep it running and be independent.”
Carolyn Crist
ccrist@gainesvilletimes.com
July 18, 2010
Our Neighbor make strides with bookstore
Hall Area Transit soon will help physically handicapped workers get to
work
Our Neighbor opened a used bookstore on the Gainesville square to give
young adults a place to work, and now Hall Area Transit is giving them a
way to get there.
Starting Sept. 1, Hall Area Transit will start making stops near Randy’s
House on Prior Street, where the organization offers housing to physically
handicapped men and women. Several of the residents started working at
Next Chapter Book Store at Main Street Market but had to rely on others to
get them there.
“One of the most important goals of public transit is to ensure that our
residents have access to employment and education, and it’s of utmost
importance to people who are challenged with mobility,” said Phillippa
Lewis Moss, director of Hall Area Transit and the Gainesville-Hall County
Community Service Center. “Our priority is to be as inclusive as possible,
and when they contacted us, it just took us examining the route to make
some small adjustments.”
The route re-configuration was a “no-brainer,” she said.
“We can not only pick up eager passengers but also help them connect with
employment. We’re hoping to be as good of a neighbor to them as Our
Neighbor is to the community,” she said. “The change didn’t increase the
time or cost of running the route. It just makes sense.”
The change means a lot to the guys who work at the bookstore, said Jean
Hare, mom to Randy’s House resident Jason Hare.
“He’s had so many opportunities and been able to meet so many people,” she
said. “Anything for him to get out in the community is wonderful. When he
works two days a week in the bookstore, helping to look up prices on the
computer, customers come in and talk. It really gives them an outlet for
interaction.”
The bookstore is hosting an open house 4-6 p.m. Aug. 6 and several local
authors will be signing books.
“I think it’ll be great because Gainesville residents can be proud of
their local authors who have written about their experiences here,” said
Michael McNeilly, a children’s book author.
McNeilly published a book last month about Amos McCool, a character
created by his grandmother when she told him bedtime stories. He carried
on the tradition by weaving morals and lessons into the tales for his two
daughters.
“I’ve lived in Gainesville all but two years of my life, and some of the
stories I write are true about some of what I’ve learned, and I’ve learned
those lessons here,” he said.
Harv Nowland, a former Gainesville pastor and former staff writer for
Larry Burkett at Christian Financial Ministries, recently released a third
book in a series of historical novels about his family. He was invited to
be a part of the open house when he donated a stack of books to the store,
including one of his own.
“I’ve known the Our Neighbor family for years, so I’m very willing to be
there,” he said. “I think it’s a great way to get in touch with local
authors and get them involved. The bookstore is in a great spot, and some
of these guys have never had a job at all.”
Our Neighbor is also welcoming a new executive director to the team.
Martin White traveled to Georgia to be with his fiancee Kay Blackstock.
White was the chief executive officer for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in
Virginia, which was chosen as the top food bank in the nation for 2009,
and served as the executive director of the Staunton Augusta Chamber of
Commerce.
“Our Neighbor is a mission that everyone can truly appreciate,” White
said. “We all, no matter who we are, want the chance for independence.
It’s amazing how the community has already come out in support at the
bookstore, and the opening gives another opportunity for interaction.”
