Local Upscale Resale Thrift Shop Merges with Large Nonprofit Organization

Family Services, Inc. (FSI), Montgomery County’s oldest (est. 1908) and largest private nonprofit social services organization, is excited to announce that as of July 1, 2016 Jobs Unlimited, Incorporated’s Upscale Resale Thrift Shop will operate as an FSI program.

With a heavy heart, Jobs Unlimited announced they will dissolve as a nonprofit organization effective July 1, after serving the community for 25 years. The Upscale Resale Thrift Store and employees will merge with Family Services, strengthening its supportive employment programs while providing the community with quality goods at low prices. Jobs Unlimited has partnered with FSI for many years, working to combat the stigma of mental illness while providing supportive employment services for those living with a mental illness throughout our community.

According to Kylie McCleaf, Chief Executive Officer of Family Services, Inc., “Our mission is to work with communities to promote the resilience, recovery and independence of individuals and families across their life span. Jobs Unlimited’s values and services are a great fit with our mission.”

Family Services offers a number of important resources for people with serious mental illness, including job coaching, counseling, housing and other supported employment opportunities. By integrating Upscale Resale Thrift Shop into Family Services, the store will continue to provide employment opportunities, support, independence and dignity to over 20 people recovering from debilitating mental illness.

“We hope that entrusting Family Services with the oversight of the Upscale Resale Thrift Shop, our employees will continue to thrive through employment at the shop or elsewhere, should they be ready to transition to competitive employment,” stated Meredith Bowers, Executive Director for Jobs Unlimited, Inc.

With the addition of the Upscale Resale Thrift Shop, FSI has extended its capacity to accept donated “upscale” items, to include furniture, artwork, jewelry, clothing, household goods and other quality items. To make a donation, please call 301-738-7723 or email UpscaleResaleThriftShop@gmail.com. For more information, please visit the website at www.upscaleresalethriftshop.org.

Upscale Resale Thrift Shop is located at 15130 Frederick Road, Rockville, MD 20850, in the College Plaza Shopping Center, just one block north of Montgomery College Rockville Campus.

About Upscale Resale Thrift Store

For twenty years Jobs Unlimited, Inc. and the Upscale Resale Thrift Shop have provided a warm and welcoming environment for DC area adults suffering from mental illness to fight back against those beliefs. Almost our entire staff of some twenty odd people is in recovery from debilitating mental illness, and it is the joy of our work to pull out the best of each of our employees and cobble together a cohesive team and functioning business. An attitude of optimism, humility and ‘a non-judgmentalism that defies description” pervades all that we do here and creates a space where our customers can shop for quality goods at low prices in a friendly, quirky and inviting atmosphere.

For more information about Upscale Resale Thrift Shop, please visit www.upscaleresalethriftshop.org

About Family Services, Inc.

Family Services, Inc., a part of the Sheppard Pratt Health System, is the oldest private non-profit social service organization in Montgomery County, Maryland. Founded in 1908, FSI currently operates over 30 distinct programs throughout Montgomery and Prince George's Counties and reaches over 27,000 people each year. FSI has extensive experience developing and implementing in-home and community-based services for individuals, children, adolescents and families. FSI provides prevention and early intervention programs which address family functioning and child development, operates Montgomery County's domestic violence shelter for women and their children, provides holistic psychiatric rehabilitation services to promote health and wellness to persons with persistent mental illness, and operates an adult medical day program. Programs are delivered by culturally and linguistically appropriate professionals and para-professional staff who represent 50 different countries and speak 42 languages.

For more information about Family Services, please visit www.fs-inc.org.