SOUTHSIDE — Veterans Outreach Ministries, a nonprofit that helps veterans obtain benefits and services, has celebrated the grand opening of the organization’s first resale store, which is in Southside.
“We had veterans driving all the way to Searcy to see [our office],” said Connie Phillips, Veterans Outreach Ministries research specialist. “In the process, my husband said, ‘We need a resale store.’”
The Veterans Outreach Thrift Store, in a strip mall at 1699 Batesville Blvd., contains “a little bit of everything,” including furniture, appliances, toys and clothing, Phillips said.
Phillips, who researches and processes claims for veterans, said the purpose of the store is to financially support the organization’s efforts.
“It helps pay the bills because all the work that we do for veterans, we don’t charge for any of it,” she said.
Veterans Outreach Ministries, which was incorporated in 2007, also helps find housing for homeless veterans, along with helping veterans learn more about and obtain education benefits and burial benefits.
Phillips and her husband, Butch, once tried to open a thrift store for Veterans Outreach Ministries in their town of Pleasant Plains but found that the location wasn’t ideal.
“We weren’t on the main highway, and it’s a small town, so my husband found this rental property in Southside, and that’s where we wound up,” she said. “After we found the store location, it took us about two to three months to get to where we could have business.”
The store has been open since November, but Phillips said the grand opening was scheduled in April because of better weather. The event raised about $900. Since its opening, about 200 people have shopped at the thrift store, she said.
Veterans Outreach is mainly made up of volunteers, and those who work in its resale store do so on a volunteer basis as well.
“We have some people who do community service through the Independence County corps,” Phillips said. “My husband is the store manager, and basically, everything that’s involved in the ministry is volunteer.”
Phillips said the store is about the size of a regular or small Goodwill store, and items in the shop have been donated by local businesses and individuals.
“We get several donations from businesses around the Batesville area, and we’d like to get a lot more,” she said. “We appreciate all the help that they have given us.”
While there’s no specific financial goal, Phillips said, she hopes the store will generate enough funds for some of the organization’s other goals, including purchasing transportation, because many of the area’s veterans no longer drive.
“Our financial goal would be to be able to take care of all the monetary stuff that we need for that area, to buy our office supplies, and even at some point, I would like to get a vehicle and someone who can transport veterans to Little Rock when they have to go to Little Rock for C&P (Compensation & Pension) exams [which are used to help decide disability compensation claims] and stuff,” she said.
Depending on the success of the first resale store, the organization might open another location.
“We plan to open one later in Searcy if this turns out real well,” Phillips said.
The Veterans Outreach Ministries resale store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Phillips said she hopes that after visiting the store, shoppers will have a better understanding of what the organization accomplishes.
“I would like for them to learn we aren’t associated with the Veterans Administration. We’re not service officers; what we do is a different kind of work,” Phillips said. “We help them fill out their forms. We help them make doctor’s appointments. I just want people to understand that we’re more than just paper-pushers.”
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.