Club Nova Thrift Shop is a haven of diversity. The general atmosphere, the workers, the customers and even the donations exude diversity. Being a volunteer at Club Nova is to see the complexities and richness of Chapel Hill. The Thrift Shop may be a stationary four walls, but the people and items that rotate through the store are an ever evolving window on Chapel Hill.
The actual Thrift Shop atmosphere is a confounding swirling mass of confusion and calm. Entering the store is like entering the dressing room of a circus. Customers queue from the cash register while caressing new found treasure. Children circle while making train noises with plastic cabooses in hand. Workers weave through the crowd, hustling to re-rack the predominantly 80's clothing. "Long sleeve shirts are one dollar." "Choo Choo!" "No comprehende?" "Uno." "Choo Choo!" "Do you need a bag?" The back room - where donations are brought, checked for quality, organized and finally put on clothes hangers - is a stark contrast to the bustle of the store. Here, workers sit on stools, slowly discussing UNC's most recent football defeat amidst the low hum of a fan and clicking of the tagging gun. "I can't believe Durant fumbled five times." Click. "Does this stain make this textile waste?" "Where are the pant hangers?" Click. Click. "Durant has to step it up."
The minds of Club Nova's Members mimic the divergent nature of the store. Some are methodical and precise, others scattered and hurried. A few workers have a hard time focusing on straightening the bookshelf and are better suited at making an advertising sign. Others revel in the monotony and precision required of tagging clothing. Luckily, the wide range of jobs required by the store provides ample work for anyone who seeks it. On a daily basis, donation bags must be sorted, checked for quality, organized, brought into the store and priced. Two people must work the cash register at all times - one to ring up the purchases, the other to place the purchases in donated grocery bags. Someone has to reorganize the clothing racks after inevitable customer dishevelment. Usually, there is a customer who needs help looking for something specific: white sheets with a flower pattern, a sweatshirt that screams of an 80's work-out video, a book for a seven-year-old. There's also the important task of cataloging and counting the finances.
Even the customers provide an astounding array. In the corner a single father sifts through t-shirts for his elementary school-aged daughter. Near the front, a sorority girl eyes the black high heels. Adjacent to her, a snotty child clashes through the trinket basket. Some speak English; others Spanish. Some don't want to speak at all. Some spend an hour in the store, wondering about the histories of each item their eyes lay on. Others breeze through in two minutes, unsatisfied and determined to check the PTA thrift store down the road. For some, 20 dollar purchases are a flippant steal. Others use nickels to pay for the scarf they laboriously checked over for any signs of wear.
The donations the customers purchase are a final testament to the Club's varied nature. Some donations come in smelly black garbage bags. These bags usually contain unfolded clothing, half of which will be sent to the local Drug Rehabilitation Center due to stains. Other donations come in shopping bags from The Limited or Talbot's. These bags typically contain meticulously folded clothing that has rarely been worn. Such donations raise the question of why such fashionable clothing in good condition is being given away.
Some background on Club Nova is crucial to understanding its' members' stories. Founded in 1987, Club Nova seeks to "address the needs of Orange County citizens living with mental illness." Following the "successful Clubhouse Model pioneered by Fountain House in New York City," the Club House - literally a house renovated into a community station with living rooms, offices and a kitchen - is a place for mental ill people (called Club House Members) to feel welcome and work with staff members. Club Nova's ultimate goal is to "reintegrate members into the larger society with dignity and choice." This goal is reached through finding and providing "meaningful work, meaningful relationships" amongst Club House Members and staff and "the opportunity to feel the sense of belonging to a welcoming community." The newly opened Club Nova Thrift Shop adjacent to the Club House is an exciting addition to the Club Nova community. The Thrift Shop provides a place for Club House Members to work, much needed revenue and an opportunity for volunteers like myself to come and become a part of the community.
A thrift stop is not a haven for forgotten, unwanted trash. Instead, it's a place of history, mystery and intrigue. How did the items get here? Why were they donated? Whom will they go home with? The history of Club Nova's people overshadows the stories of the donations. How did the Club House Members end up at Club Nova? What have they done since becoming a Club House Member? What is their place in this unique sub-community? What is it about our society that necessitates the formation of Club Nova? How do perceptions of "sanity" and "competence" perpetuate our (mis)treatment of the mentally ill? What can be done? Club Nova brims with a diverse history. It is the history of Club Nova as an organization and Club Nova's people the following biographies seek to illuminate.
The actual Thrift Shop atmosphere is a confounding swirling mass of confusion and calm. Entering the store is like entering the dressing room of a circus. Customers queue from the cash register while caressing new found treasure. Children circle while making train noises with plastic cabooses in hand. Workers weave through the crowd, hustling to re-rack the predominantly 80's clothing. "Long sleeve shirts are one dollar." "Choo Choo!" "No comprehende?" "Uno." "Choo Choo!" "Do you need a bag?" The back room - where donations are brought, checked for quality, organized and finally put on clothes hangers - is a stark contrast to the bustle of the store. Here, workers sit on stools, slowly discussing UNC's most recent football defeat amidst the low hum of a fan and clicking of the tagging gun. "I can't believe Durant fumbled five times." Click. "Does this stain make this textile waste?" "Where are the pant hangers?" Click. Click. "Durant has to step it up."
The minds of Club Nova's Members mimic the divergent nature of the store. Some are methodical and precise, others scattered and hurried. A few workers have a hard time focusing on straightening the bookshelf and are better suited at making an advertising sign. Others revel in the monotony and precision required of tagging clothing. Luckily, the wide range of jobs required by the store provides ample work for anyone who seeks it. On a daily basis, donation bags must be sorted, checked for quality, organized, brought into the store and priced. Two people must work the cash register at all times - one to ring up the purchases, the other to place the purchases in donated grocery bags. Someone has to reorganize the clothing racks after inevitable customer dishevelment. Usually, there is a customer who needs help looking for something specific: white sheets with a flower pattern, a sweatshirt that screams of an 80's work-out video, a book for a seven-year-old. There's also the important task of cataloging and counting the finances.
Even the customers provide an astounding array. In the corner a single father sifts through t-shirts for his elementary school-aged daughter. Near the front, a sorority girl eyes the black high heels. Adjacent to her, a snotty child clashes through the trinket basket. Some speak English; others Spanish. Some don't want to speak at all. Some spend an hour in the store, wondering about the histories of each item their eyes lay on. Others breeze through in two minutes, unsatisfied and determined to check the PTA thrift store down the road. For some, 20 dollar purchases are a flippant steal. Others use nickels to pay for the scarf they laboriously checked over for any signs of wear.
The donations the customers purchase are a final testament to the Club's varied nature. Some donations come in smelly black garbage bags. These bags usually contain unfolded clothing, half of which will be sent to the local Drug Rehabilitation Center due to stains. Other donations come in shopping bags from The Limited or Talbot's. These bags typically contain meticulously folded clothing that has rarely been worn. Such donations raise the question of why such fashionable clothing in good condition is being given away.
Some background on Club Nova is crucial to understanding its' members' stories. Founded in 1987, Club Nova seeks to "address the needs of Orange County citizens living with mental illness." Following the "successful Clubhouse Model pioneered by Fountain House in New York City," the Club House - literally a house renovated into a community station with living rooms, offices and a kitchen - is a place for mental ill people (called Club House Members) to feel welcome and work with staff members. Club Nova's ultimate goal is to "reintegrate members into the larger society with dignity and choice." This goal is reached through finding and providing "meaningful work, meaningful relationships" amongst Club House Members and staff and "the opportunity to feel the sense of belonging to a welcoming community." The newly opened Club Nova Thrift Shop adjacent to the Club House is an exciting addition to the Club Nova community. The Thrift Shop provides a place for Club House Members to work, much needed revenue and an opportunity for volunteers like myself to come and become a part of the community.
A thrift stop is not a haven for forgotten, unwanted trash. Instead, it's a place of history, mystery and intrigue. How did the items get here? Why were they donated? Whom will they go home with? The history of Club Nova's people overshadows the stories of the donations. How did the Club House Members end up at Club Nova? What have they done since becoming a Club House Member? What is their place in this unique sub-community? What is it about our society that necessitates the formation of Club Nova? How do perceptions of "sanity" and "competence" perpetuate our (mis)treatment of the mentally ill? What can be done? Club Nova brims with a diverse history. It is the history of Club Nova as an organization and Club Nova's people the following biographies seek to illuminate.