INSPIRATION CORNER Community Hero Julie Kleshinski
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Julie is the executive director of The New Store, an organization of community volunteers who help children by providing Christmas gifts, school supplies, lessons, clothing, camp experiences, and more. In 2011, The New Store moved into its current location inside the Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center building. Under Julie’s tireless leadership, it has expanded its community reach and serves more children and families every year. The Christmas Project, for example, started out providing gifts for 50 children in its first year and now provides gifts for 1,000 children!
In December, while I was dropping off Christmas gifts for The Christmas Project, Julie offered to give me a tour of the facility. She first showed me the staging area for the project. It looked like Santa’s workshop with hundreds of large red and green Christmas bags filled with gifts, each lovingly tied with a ribbon and a hand-crafted gift tag that she told me were donated by members of the Crossroads church. We walked down a hallway lined with bicycles to a room that looked like a fancy kid’s clothing store at the mall. The clothing was carefully displayed on racks, and the walls were decorated with twinkling lights, flowers, and butterflies. There was a changing room and an accessory section with jewelry, belts, and hair ribbons. Julie told me it was a girls’ store and explained that the objective is to make the kids who come through feel like they are at a boutique at a mall rather than a secondhand thrift store. Next, Julie proudly showed me the boys department and a literal wall of shoes, most of which were brand-new. Julie explained that large companies like Nike will sell them overstock shoes for pennies on the dollar. It is nice for the kids they serve to have name brands like their peers. Across the hall was a huge warehouse where the clothing comes in and is sorted and stored to restock the boutiques as needed. There were racks of winter coats, Easter dresses, sportswear, school uniforms, backpacks, and dress clothes, all organized by type and size. I’m sure Julie has given this tour to dozens, if not hundreds, of people before, but there was a twinkle in her eye and excitement in her voice as she described all of the programs and services The New Store provides. Of course, Julie tried to give all credit due to her team of “elves” and volunteers, but without Julie at the helm, The New Store would not be what it is today. I cannot even begin to imagine the planning and logistics it must take to run the organization. Julie’s favorite quote is painted on the wall of The New Store, and we agree they are words to live by: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
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