Maggie Scivique & Arc Thrift: Fostering Community and Inclusivity in Every Store

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

Well, hey, we’re with our friend Maggie Skivik from Arc Thrift Stores. And Maggie, you’ve been in New Mexico for, what, like a week, a week and a half? Getting that store going. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:12

Yes. It’s been two weeks in New Mexico. We are so excited to bring our store to the Albuquerque community. They have been so warm, so receptive. And I’ve got to tell you, one of the most interesting things for me is how close Denver and Albuquerque, they’re kind of sister cities, Mike.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:30

They are.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:30

It has fascinated me with how much crossover there is. So I’m excited to bring Denver to Albuquerque and Albuquerque to Denver.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:38

And Maggie, tell Denver listeners why that should matter for them, because there are so many reasons why the success of Arc Thrift is important, even out of state.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:49

Absolutely. You know, our disability community nationwide is struggling to find jobs, to find services, to find advocacy. And we have a great relationship with the Arc of New Mexico. They asked us to open a store there. This store will benefit Colorado as well as the Albuquerque market, which we’re very excited about. So it really is an extension of our Colorado stores. The chapter there does amazing work. They help provide services in school, advocacy for families of people with disabilities. It’s a really nice crossover for us to extend our services there. So far, the community has been nothing but welcoming. So this is really going to help the ARC chapter of New Mexico to be able to provide more and more advocacy and services for kids in school when it comes to like IEPs and that kind of thing. Having an advocate, a strong advocate in your community when you have a child with a disability is a critical piece of the puzzle. And funding for that is very critical as well. So that store there will help that chapter succeed.

SPEAKER 01 : 1:48

Yeah, that’s super good. And Maggie, talk to us because if parents find themselves with a child with a disability, that can mean all sorts of different things. It can be all over the range of function and different types of issues. It’s not just a simple, okay, well, there’s a program and we’ll plug him or her in and we’ll be great. It just doesn’t work that way.

SPEAKER 02 : 2:12

Absolutely. You know, it really is about finding the right fit for your kiddo. And that means at every stage of life, whether you’re talking about a newborn or you’re talking about a child who’s transitioning from high school to their next chapter. In Colorado, you age out of our school system at 21. In New Mexico, that’s actually 18. We have had calls from parents who at that point, when you’re no longer in a transition program through your local high school, you’re then faced with trying to find a purpose and maybe a job and a social outlet for your transitioning adult. That is a whole other ballgame, and I think that’s where AHRQ really comes in clutch for their community. First of all, about 20% of our workforce is hiring people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. and really finding a place for them. You and I have talked endlessly about this. You know many of our ambassadors. It’s not about an interview when you’re talking about our thrift stores. It’s about a conversation. We’re finding out where your adult or your child, depending on where you’re at in life, fits into the workforce. What do they like to do? Are they super into DVDs or super into CDs or they love hanging children’s clothing? Whatever it is, we have a conversation and we find the right fit. for your transitioning adult and finding them a place in the workforce. And then I love this part, Mike. You know we talk about it often. We then provide a social life as well where we’ve got dances and proms and karaoke day and bowling and movie day, all the fun things that your child may have been getting in high school and then they’re no longer getting. So it’s a job and a social life, which is a beautiful thing. That’s all we all want, right?

SPEAKER 01 : 3:53

Man, I saw some of the stuff surrounding one of the proms and the pictures and heard some of the stories and just thought, oh, that blows my mind that you have a prom for kids that probably would not get invited to or get to go to a prom. And they were overjoyed. It was a blast.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:12

It really is a lot of fun. And actually, our DJ, who Moose, comes with us to almost everything we do, comes from a connection we made with you and Angie Austin. So I love it’s all connected like that.

SPEAKER 01 : 4:23

That’s so cool. Yes, yes. He’s a great DJ. That guy is just, he’s awesome. And we kind of, we worked with, we had a church partner that did a ball, a dance, you know, a prom like that. And I don’t think it was in concert with ARC, although who knows? It might have been. Flatirons Church up in Louisville. And they did that thing. Oh, man. The kids, they blessed.

SPEAKER 02 : 4:47

Yes, I know that event. Yes, the kids absolutely love it. And they get so excited. And like you said, they don’t have this experience. They don’t have this opportunity. We are giving that opportunity to them. And it really is the best part of getting up and going to work every morning for me.

SPEAKER 01 : 5:01

We’re speaking with Maggie from Arc Thrift, and the fact is that’s who we serve. That’s why Arc Thrift is around. That’s why Lloyd Lewis started this is because his son is disabled. He’s in that boat as a dad. And I think Lloyd did something with Arc. Does that sound right? Is that the way it worked?

SPEAKER 02 : 5:22

Yeah, yeah. And Lloyd took over. I mean, ARC’s been around for a while, but when Lloyd took over, gosh, it’s been 20 years now, he really made this initiative. We had 10 ambassadors, those are our employees with disabilities, when he started 20 years ago, and now we have over 500, Mike. I mean, the number has grown significantly. Every store has a significant amount of their employee workforce. And this is meaningful work. It’s not we’re pretending you have a job. This is meaningful work. And there’s a really big difference between being employed and being meaningfully employed, where you have some accountability. You have a reason to go get up in the morning. You’ve got a paycheck coming in. But this is meaningful work. And we’ve seen our ambassadors grow in ways that I can’t even describe to you. They came in maybe not as verbal, maybe, you know, very shy, and now they are leaders at their store. They’re thriving. They’re meeting these quota numbers in our production. They’re now cashiers. We’ve got, I’m thinking, Seth at JCRS. He’s now a lead trainer of our cashiers at the JCRS store. We just see this growth. People with disabilities have so many abilities, and we really get to shine a light on that and find out what makes them excited about showing up and then grow and improve it. Some of our ambassadors have been here for 10-plus years, and they have meaningful work, and they are striving and thriving in their positions.

SPEAKER 01 : 6:51

And so here’s an example of an ambassador. Tanner Coleman, the producer for this interview, Tanner goes into Arc Thrift Store. He purchases some items. And then an ambassador, a young man, helps him out. And Tanner said, and I didn’t ask this. This was unsolicited from Tanner. He said, that was the best part of the trip was… That ambassador, that guy was so cool, and he helped us out to the car, and we got to see who our thrift helps. Worth it. Totally worth it.

SPEAKER 02 : 7:24

Absolutely. And it really does change lives. You know, our customers report loving it. But imagine a neurotypical employee who works next to someone with a disability who believes that this job is the coolest place to be, right? It’s really hard to hate your job if someone with a disability next to you talks to you about how it’s the greatest job ever. That’s really the glue and the beautiful piece of this.

SPEAKER 01 : 7:46

Yeah, and I’ll add this, and then we can talk some about, you know, kind of what’s going on in the spring. But we have a disabled daughter. Some of the listeners know that, some don’t. But our daughter, she wants to work. And she’s in Arizona, so, you know, Arc Thrift in Arizona maybe someday. Surprise, Arizona. That’s your next location, okay?

SPEAKER 02 : 8:04

A little mic drop there.

SPEAKER 01 : 8:05

I love that. She just wants to work and have meaningful work, and that’s the way it is, you know?

SPEAKER 02 : 8:13

Yep. Yeah, it really is important to have a purpose, and everybody wants that. Regardless of your, you know, cognitive functionality, you want purpose and a reason to get up in the morning. It’s all we, any of us want.

SPEAKER 01 : 8:27

So tell us about March, April, kind of what’s happening during this time frame at Arc Thrift. What should our listeners look for?

SPEAKER 02 : 8:34

Absolutely. You know, we’ve got our big $2 jean sale. I’m not sure when this airs, but that’s on Friday the 28th. And then, you know, April is Earth Months. We take that very seriously, and it’s all about entering to win for an opportunity to win a gift card to ARC. And with that, you get a $5 off a $25 purchase every single time you enter to win. And those are daily prizes that we give all through April, which is very exciting. And, you know, it’s always a great time to donate to ARC. And I would love to ask your listeners, who are always so generous with their donations – is to really focus on that furniture item. Right now we are in need of soft furniture, which is like recliners, couches. If you’re doing a spring clean of that stuff, let us know. We’ll pick it up for free. We’ll take it off your hands. We’re really in need of those furniture items this year.

SPEAKER 01 : 9:25

Yeah, don’t put a sofa in the landfill. I don’t know when that is appropriate. Maybe if it’s just completely shredded, that kind of thing. If it’s usable, you know. I mean, if you look at it and say, okay, I’m good with having guests over and them sitting on the couch, then when you don’t need it, get it to Arc Thrift. That’s crazy. Yeah.

SPEAKER 02 : 9:51

That’s a great way to look at it. And it’s so easy. Put it out on your front porch. Give us a shout. We’ll come pick it up for free. And you can include up to 20 boxes and bags with that as well. We’re getting into garage sale season, Mike. I can’t believe it. When those start happening, you do a neighborhood garage sale, give us a shout. We’ll come over when it’s all said and done and pick up anything that’s left over.

SPEAKER 01 : 10:11

Yeah, that’s really good. That’s a sneaky good thing we need to keep talking about every month because, honestly, I’d forgotten that. And I know once our community garage sale is over, there’s some stuff, and sometimes there’s some pretty good stuff still left over and people left for the day, you know, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER 02 : 10:30

And you don’t want to drag it all back into your house or your garage.

SPEAKER 01 : 10:33

No.

SPEAKER 02 : 10:33

Give us a shot. We’ll cruise by and pick it up.

SPEAKER 01 : 10:36

Okay, that’s really good. That’s really good. Now, when our listeners go into the stores, Maggie, what are they going to see? Is there anything that’s different about spring? We talked about the sails and Earth Day, that kind of thing. Anything else you want to point out?

SPEAKER 02 : 10:49

Well, you know we take the seasons very seriously here in Colorado. We make sure that our floors, our aisles are a reflection of what the weather is. So you can definitely be guaranteed to see some of that more spring weather item. The short-sleeved knits are on their way out, followed shortly by the tanks and shorts. We’ve got you covered for all of those vacations that you’re signing up for this summer or summer camp for your kiddos. Forget the retail. Come in, check us out for a great deal on all of those clothing as the weather transitions into spring and then summer.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:23

So warmer weather clothing, and obviously, too, there might be some winter weather stuff where you go to Arc Thrift and you say, that coat will be really handy next October.

SPEAKER 02 : 11:34

Oh, my gosh.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:34

It’s coming up. Whatever.

SPEAKER 02 : 11:35

This is such a transition period for us because you never know. We could have another snow. So we’re kind of pumping the brakes. We’ve got to be a little careful. So, yes, you will still find that cold weather gear here, at least for another month.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:48

Well, here’s a sneaky good hack, too, is we’ve thought about when you go camping, when you go camping and all of a sudden it’s 80 or 90 degrees, turns into it’s 50 or 60 or colder at night. That’s a good point. Let’s be honest. A lot of times you don’t have the stuff. Maybe it’s down in the basement packed away, or maybe you simply just don’t have the right items to go camping, good or thrifting, and get camping gear, clothing, whatever. You have camping gear, right?

SPEAKER 02 : 12:16

Oh, my gosh, and the garden tools. I was just walking through a store yesterday, and I was like, wow, garden is in full force. Check us out before you hit the big box because you never know. We’ve got the trowels, the hose, the rake. All the pots that you could possibly imagine, watering cans, you name it, check us out before you go because you never know what you’re going to find in the furniture section under garden.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:38

I’m pretty sure a used rake doesn’t work better than a new rake. What do you think, Tanner?

SPEAKER 02 : 12:43

Great point.

SPEAKER 01 : 12:44

Yeah, he’s nodding, yes. So it’s Maggie with Arc Thrift. Maggie, how do people find out more and where do they get all the info, the scoop?

SPEAKER 02 : 12:54

You know, ArcShift.com is the best way to find us on the website. And, of course, we’d love it if you followed us on all the social channels, on Instagram, on Facebook, on TikTok, all the places. At ArcShift stores, you can find us.

SPEAKER 01 : 13:07

Yeah, you guys kill it on social media. That’s a great way for people just to get ideas, you know, what there is at Arc Thrift and some of the uses, how some of your folks that shop there frequently, what they use. And I think, too, the pickup, let’s let people know how, let’s say they have a furniture pickup. So our listeners are now going to make sure their sofas come to you guys, okay? Yeah.

SPEAKER 02 : 13:33

Absolutely, yeah. What do they do? You can schedule that online. We actually have a tab on our ArcSurf.com website. website, and you just click on the donate here, and you can schedule it online, or you can give us a shout. The phone number and everything is right there on arcthrift.com.

SPEAKER 01 : 13:50

Okay, so they can call, or they can schedule online. I would schedule online. That’s so much easier, but up to them.

SPEAKER 02 : 13:55

So easy.

SPEAKER 01 : 13:56

Okay. Well, it’s Maggie with Arc Thrift. Maggie, thanks. We just love being partners with you guys and everything you do in our community for ambassadors, kids, and adults with disabilities. Just such a blessing. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER 02 : 14:09

Thank you.