MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW)- SOS Health Care received a grant funding this week from the Developmental Disabilities Council to renew its Making Change Consignment store for a third year.
The store, located at 1106 North Kings Highway in downtown Myrtle Beach, is a job training facility for individuals with Autism. Making Change Consignment is an upscale take on consignment and offers art, furniture, handmade jewelry and more.
At the store, individuals with Autism learn how to interact with customers, work the register, and make some of the products sold in the store, such as handmade soaps and candles. The program, which has been running since September of 2013, prepares the individuals with skills necessary to find employment in the community.
For the first time this year, the group is also hosting a summer Career Camp to help teens learn job and life skills.
“I like learning to different things like the money, working on the computer doing paperwork and stuff, Camper Emily Balestracci said.
Balestracci and the other campers have weekly field trips and do daily activities in the store to help them learn their strengths and identify potential future jobs. Organizers with SOS Health Care wanted to build off the success of is training program.
“It has been much better than we anticipated, all the parents are pleased. The campers are really excited to be here. They’re super motivated and it’s going really well,” Camp Director Ashley Brigham said.
Brigham says the group relies on the support of the community to be successful.
“Having the community’s support is amazing and it’s so important to us because if it weren’t for the community, we wouldn’t have these experiences.”
So far the group has placed 12 people with employers throughout the county and it looks to grow that number with its Career Camp.
