GBA Investor Holy Angels has opened up Market on Main, a new gift shop located at 124 N. Main St., and their gifts come with a twist.
Why it matters: Doubling as a gift shop and the new center for the Holy Angels Life Choices program, many of the items available in the shop are handmade by local individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Over a decade ago, community members began approaching Holy Angels after noticing a need for a program to serve local adults with developmental disabilities, according to Holy Angels President and CEO Kerri Massey.
Holy Angels acted on these requests, formally starting Life Choices on their main campus in 2012.
In Life Choices, clients with Holy Angels learn basic life skills like how to make a bed or a meal, how to be financially responsible, and how to lead a healthy lifestyle. It also teaches them social skills, community integration, and even how to create unique items.
What they're saying: “For the past three years, the folks from the community that we’ve been serving have not really had an opportunity to attend a program,” Massey said. “Opening it back up was just so important because it gives us an opportunity to continue to carry out our mission even further by providing a meaningful day to the people who we serve here at Holy Angels.”
In 2015, they had to move to a new location in Cramerton to accommodate the growth they had experienced.
Their new space in Belmont will not only meet their space needs, but also allows Holy Angels to connect with one of their greatest support systems.
“That is another part of it that made it so appealing to open it in this particular location, because it was downtown Belmont,” Massey said. “We are going to thrive in a community that already supports Holy Angels immensely.”
Market on Main officially opened on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
The shop will be open from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. every week Monday-Saturday.
In addition to the handmade gifts created by the men and women of the Life Choices program, Market on Main also sells, “specialty gifts you can’t find anywhere else,” Massey said.