Friday, Dec. 21 will be Fulton thrifters' last chance to fill up a bag at Yours, Mine and Ours.
The Girls Town-operated thrift store will be closing its doors after more than six years of operation, Girls Town executive director Kathy Becker said.
Though business had trailed off and the store was just "breaking even," Becker said Yours, Mine and Ours was never really about bringing proceeds into the counseling and housing center for girls transitioning from residential or foster care.
"When we opened the thrift store, the primary purpose was to gain some employment skills for our clients," she said. "The number of clients we're getting who are able to work at a thrift store has decreased, and some clients have been using Job Point (an employment center with locations in Columbia and Fulton.)
"It seemed like a good time to save some money and pull back into focusing on our campus girls and getting them ready to jump back into society and make a difference, and get a job out of high school."
Becker said Job Point also had the advantage of gaining experience in areas outside of retail, such as food or hospitality. She said Girls Town clients had not worked at the thrift store in about six months.
"The opportunity to collaborate with Job Point seemed like the best thing to do. The girls working at the thrift store didn't have a good chance to meet a lot of other workers in the community, and when they were released they felt isolated. They needed a little bit more job training to gain some friendship in the community," she said.
Girls Town's clients will have first dibs of any items left over following the store's close, and anything remaining will be donated to Kingdom Projects, the Clothes Cupboard and other local service projects.