Published: December 01, 2008 08:28 am      

'Thrilled beyond thrilled'

Teens in foster care bowlee over by shop, organizers say

Cannonsburg — Teenagers in foster care lined up Saturday afternoon to be the first to shop at a new store created just for them.

Organizers said about 15 were the first customers of Inspire U and have already made the project a success. A collaboration between For Jamie’s Sake Foster and Adoption Resource Center, the Kyova Mall and other local businesses, volunteers and donors, the store offers teenagers in the foster care system a place to shop for free clothing, accessories and other items.

The goal was to create a place just for those children that made them feel special and normal at the same time. The store strives to carry the latest teen fashions and has taken some merchandising suggestions from its first customers.

“They were thrilled beyond thrilled,” said Michelle Kelly, a volunteer who has helped set up the shop. “They just couldn’t believe it was for them.”

She said the young shoppers suggested the store carry more skinny-leg jeans, Vans shoes and novelty T-shirts to be even more appealing to teens.

Cheri Daniels is credited with suggesting the store after she read about a similar project in Florida for teenage girls started by a woman as a service project. She approached Lea Ann Gollihue, co-founder and executive director of For Jamie’s Sake with the idea, and things took off from there, Daniels said.

“It was just heavy on my heart, I suppose. I kept thinking about it,” she said.

The mother of two young boys said she wanted the store to include teenage boys as well.

“Teenage boys might not always express it, but they care about what they wear and how they look, just like the girls,” she said. “The kids in middle and high school are all trying to figure out who they are and what their place in life is. These foster kids have been taken from their homes and they don’t have much choice in many matters that go on in their lives. This way it gives them a chance to have a voice.”

The store also strives to send a Christian message of love and hope to the children who shop there. Tags on the new and gently used clothing do not bear prices but the words “I will never leave or forsake you, God,” and each first-time shopper receives a free Bible.

“To me that says it all. That’s what the store is all about,” Gollihue said. “Beyond the clothes and the purses, they are going to know God is never going to leave them.”

Gollihue, Daniels and other volunteers say they give God the credit for making the project happen.

“From the first conversation Lea Ann and I had until now, God has opened doors and people have shown up to donate their time, clothes and money to help us. This is truly a store that God has built,” Daniels said.

The store is open from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (606) 327-5511.

CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.