Community Action celebrates new name for thrift store (and more) in Albion

Site also works with VA to offer telehealth pod for veterans

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Village of Albion Mayor Angel Javier helps Cassie Healy, director of Community Action’s Main Street Corner Thrift, Gifts and More Store and Community Action’s executive director Renee Hungerford cut the ribbon to celebrate the store’s new name and focus.

ALBION – This past weekend was a busy one for Community Action’s Main Street Store, now re-named the Main Street Corner Thrift, Gifts and More Store.

On Friday, the store welcomed Paul Galantowicz, facility Telehealth coordinator for the VA Western New York Healthcare System.

Galantowicz spent a couple of hours cooking hotdogs outside and offering them free to the public. It was Galantowicz’s aim to attract veterans to the store, where earlier in the year the VA announced placement of a telehealth pod in the store.

He said veterans have been slow to utilize the service, which the VA hoped would make it more convenient for veterans to communicate with the VA and eliminate long drives to the city. Veterans can sit privately in the pod and access their health records, communicate with medical people to schedule appointments and renew prescriptions.

The pod is one of only 14 in the country and two in New York state, the other being in Gowanda.

(Left) Cassie Healy, manager of the Main Street Corner Thrift. Gifts and More Store helps Adam Iaymon of Georgia with a purchase. Iaymon said he shops there often and likes the store. (Right) Paul Galantowicz, facility Telehealth coordinator for the VA Western New York Healthcare System, sits in the healthcare pod the VA has placed in Community Action’s Main Street Corner Thrift, Gifts and More Store.

On Saturday, Community Action cut a ribbon to celebrate the store’s new name and the launch of still more innovative new features at the store. Participating with store manager Cassie Healy and Community Action’s executive director Renee Hungerford was Albion Mayor Angel Javier.

“It’s amazing the assortment of things they have here,” Javier said. “They have just about anything anybody could possibly want.”

The name was changed to Main Street Corner Thrift, Gifts and More Store in an effort to better reflect all the store offers, Hungerford said. In addition to a wide selection of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, small household appliances, furniture, holiday decorations, gifts and toys, the store runs a credit recovery program for graduating students, a job development program, the veterans’ pod and prom dress giveaway program.

Healy said she is planning to expand the prom dress giveaway this year and will have a corner devoted to prom dresses.

Two new features are a Young Entrepreneur’s Corner and party rentals.

(Left) Abbie Worsley, 14, of Albion arranges her homemade magnets and sewing kits on the new Young Entrepreneurs’ Shelf at the Main Street Corner Thrift, Gifts and More Store. (Right) Kinzie Rinkner, 11, stands in front of the Young Entrepreneur’s Corner with one of her homemade soy candles.

The Young Entrepreneur’s Corner is designed to support young people with the ambition to run their own business, Healy said. The idea sprung from her own daughter, Kinzie Rinkner, 11, who makes soy candles. Hungerford donates the wax. Kinzie buys assorted glassware and containers from the thrift store and fills them with colorful wax.

Another young entrepreneur is Abbie Worsley, 14, of Albion who makes do-it-yourself magnets and sewing kits. She was busy on Saturday arranging her merchandise on the shelf.

Other budding entrepreneurs are invited to bring in their new ideas to sell.

“The purpose of the Young Entrepreneur’s program is to work with youth and show them how to run a business,” Healy said. “In return for selling their merchandise, we ask them for at least an hour a week of volunteer time here.”

During that time, the young people will help around the store and learn how to run a cash register and deal with customers.

Also new is a service renting party decorations and supplies, said Jackie Dunham, operations officer and overseer of the store. They will be renting tablecloths, decorations, glassware, silverware, centerpieces and candle holders.

“There are still lots of new ideas to come,” Hungerford added.