BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

HAPEVILLE--The seventh St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and the first one on Atlanta's south side opened in early November in partnership with the Pregnancy Problem Center and was blessed Dec. 3 by Archbishop John F. Donoghue.

Approximately 35 people including clergy, volunteers and supporters gathered in the store filled with bags and displays of newly donated items including toys, books, clothes for all ages, shoes and furniture. A sign reading "Welcome, Open for Business" hung above the front door.

Alan Urech, SVDP council president for North Georgia, opened the gathering by thanking store supporters.

During the blessing the archbishop described the value of labor. "In his own life Christ Jesus clearly showed us the dignity of labor...By working with his own hands he transformed toil from being an inherited curse for sin into a source of blessings."

He said that all work may be used for Christian service if offered to God. "If we do our work well, whatever it may be, and offer it to God, we purify ourselves and through the labor of our hands and minds we build up God's creation. Our work enables us to practice charity and to help the less fortunate."

The archbishop concluded the ceremony asking God's blessing on both the volunteers and shoppers. "By our labor we will endeavor to ensure that all share in the benefits of your creation. Bless all those who will use this building either as buyers or as sellers, so that by respecting justice and charity they will see themselves as working for the common good...May God, the Father of goodness, who commanded us to help one another as brothers and sisters, bless this new building with his presence and look kindly on all who enter here."

The store at 685 North Central Ave., located a few blocks from the Pregnancy Problem Center, is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Center, which is run by volunteers and offers free services to pregnant women in difficulty, will provide volunteers for the thrift store, refer clients with vouchers to purchase needed items and receive half the store's profits after expenses are paid.

The store is run completely by its 65 to 70 volunteers and is seeking additional volunteers in order to extend its hours. Anyone may shop at the store where items are sold at low cost or given to customers in need with approved referrals from area churches and other organizations. Planning for the project began approximately a year ago.

Elaine LaBarn of Lilburn, who serves on the Pregnancy Problem Center's board of directors, volunteers at the store on Saturday evenings and said more help is needed.

"We have to turn people away when we're not working. We have to get more volunteers to staff it for more hours," she said.

"When SVDP approached us about a joint venture, we just felt like the community need was there," LaBarn said.

Deacon Michael Mobley, director of the SVDP ministry at nearby St. John the Evangelist Church, which feeds the homeless daily and operates a clothes closet, said that many homeless were pushed into the area since the Olympics creating the need for more outreach.

Urech said the Hapeville site was chosen for a store "because it provided needed services to people on the south side. We have quite a few conferences down here...This was the area that needed it the most."

Volunteer John Devlin of St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro, led renovation efforts on the leased building which included carpentry and electrical and plumbing repairs. Thirty students from the Cathedral of Christ the King and Holy Cross Church, both in Atlanta, spent a morning painting and cleaning the store.

The Society is considering opening an eighth thrift store in Marietta.

SVDP accepts a wide range of usable items and clothing donations in poor condition are sold to a local rag dealer for recycling. Donors may deliver items to the store or schedule a pick-up time.

To volunteer call the store at (404) 767-5239. To arrange a donation pick-up call (770) 457-9798.