ST. CLOUD -- It's a Wednesday morning and the student-run secondhand store at Apollo High School is bustling with shoppers.
James Clark, a junior, who works in the store, is getting ready to head to Plato's Closet to pick up a load of donated clothes.
"We just go get them, bring them back and go over them," Clark told the St. Cloud Times.
The store is starting its second full year of operation. It provides work experience and real-life skills for students, said Jen Fox, who teaches the work-experience class at Apollo High School.
The store and Iggy's coffee shop near the school district offices serve as two work-experience programs for Apollo students. The secondhand store replaced a computer recycling program that ran out of Apollo for two years.
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"It's been fun," Fox said. "They enjoy getting real-life experience."
The store is on the east end of the building near the shop rooms. It is open mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Students and staff drop in during their free time, and community members are also welcome. Many things sell for a quarter or 50 cents. Some secondhand items such as ball gowns might cost as much as $2.
The store also sells clothing with Apollo's logo and nickname on it. That is sold for cost, Fox said.
Sara Notch, a senior, was looking around the store to see if there was something she wanted.
"There's a few things I like. Cute jeans. My size. It's cheap," she said.
Paul Logsdon, a freshman, is running the counter where people pay for their items. People bring what they want to buy and he takes the money. He sits at a large, black desk. It has two tags that remind the person working that items with a blue tag cost 25 cents and those with red tags cost 50 cents.
"I like doing the math," Logsdon said.
The secondhand goods are donated. The store has limited overhead costs. Local businesses and community members donated many of the racks and fixtures.
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Students who work in the store get what amounts to a dollar in store credit, Fox said.
Working in the store helps students develop skills that might help them land and keep a job at a retail store, Fox said. Students learn punctuality, the importance of making eye contact and communications, Fox said.
It's a nice resume builder, she said.
"If they are looking to work for Target or Walmart, they can list that," Fox said.
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This article is by the St. Cloud (MN) Times
