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Show I ' ' v 1 I If wv 4 ; S j - -4 - - ..... v i I . j J . .jr t : I : A 1 I J S . I kv : J Stilt HI IWT lia- ..'- ",;V'::;': '':::' --A Gina DeLon works in the cafeteria at the Bishop's Storehouse. Each day she prepares lunch for those who are working at the storehouse. The goal of the storehouse is to help those less fortunate for-tunate become self-sufficient. IDS Bishop's Storehouse teaches self-efficiency By DONETA GATHERUM KAYS VILLEThere is one store in this Davis County community that carries an exclusive line of food products ranging from fresh produce pro-duce and meats to household cleaning clean-ing products, but isn't in business to make a profit or to attract customers. The owners of this special store, located at 362 N. 300 West, hope to eventually be put out of business. The LDS " Church's Bishop's Multi-Regional Storehouse in Kaysville is one part of the extensive exten-sive Church welfare program. It serves the temporary needs of the people of Davis County and supports sup-ports branch storehouses in Evans ton and Green River, Wyo. Other storehouses within the system are located throughout the United States, Canada and England. Newland Branham, the Kaysville Storehouse manager, says the welfare program is spiritual, not temporal. "We assist the Bishops of the wards within the church in caring for the poor and needy on a temporary basis. While caring for immediate needs, we provide training train-ing that will help the individual improve im-prove social skills and vocational skills that will enable them to get and keep a job,' Branham said. 'As important as receiving food and clothing is the opportunity the recipient has to work for what is received." Over 85 percent of the food sturf found on the shelves at a Bishop's storehouse has been produced by volunteer labor on church farms, ranches and dairies and processed in Church canneries and mills. The welfare system makes its own soap products, pasta, fruit juice mix and powdered milk products. Peanut butter comes from Texas. Raisins are contributed from California farms. Apples come from Utah and Idaho, and most seasonal vegetables are grown in Utah. "What we can't produce is purchased pur-chased using funds collected through the fast offerings program," pro-gram," Branham said. "We also stock dry goods, notions, bedding, and clothing. We buy at merchandising merchan-dising shows in the same fashion that a for-profit store chain would do." In order to receive the services found in the Bishop's storehouse and Church welfare system, a person per-son must get the approval of a ward bishop. The local bishops can help church members and non-members living within their ward boundaries. This is the function of a bishop only and no other officer in the church system. When a person brings a bishop's order to the storehouse, the individual in-dividual is offered the opportunity to review employment listings to see if there is a possibility a job can be secured. If the individual returns to the storehouse later to help with SEE WELFARE A-7 . t - i ' ' ' Hi iim.K 1. 1 1 1 IHII illl 1 1 mi I M ii i in 1 1 ililiin ttfrmnWi i m-nMrMhUIHiiinrt!tiMfif-:i i '-'fr, f - ff" 7 r: Tfly ('" V-V V-rii;iW4it'-'itf iff"' Newland Branham, Kaysville Bishop's Storehouse manager, prepares a training video to show to individuals who are receiving receiv-ing assistance through the LDS Church welfare program. Training Train-ing is an important part of the welfare program because it enables a person to enter the private job market. Welfare CONT. FROM A-4 the work, Branham conducts an interview in-terview so training needs can be assessed. In addition to providing training at the storehouse, the individual may benefit from programs offered through other church social service programs. Options beyond the storehouse programs may be discuessed at a meeting of the work training committee that consists of managers of church welfare programs pro-grams like the bishop's storehouse and Deseret Industries and church social service staff members. This group has valuable information about the training and job opportunities oppor-tunities that exist in the private community. "In recent years, the Church has done an outstanding job of training unemployed people to succeed in the work place," Branham said. "I conduct video seminars, personal instruction classes to enable a person per-son to learn social skills, fill out a job application, learn to work with a boss and hold a job. Because of this emphasis on job placement and training, the overall number of people peo-ple receiving assistance through the bishop's storehouse is down. For the past three years, the number of people served has leveled off." The Kaysville storehouse is staffed by two full-time paid employees, two welfare service missionary couples and 12 to 15 volunteers and service recipients. The peak time of year for those needing assistance is between Thanksgiving and New Year's. The numbers decrease in the summer months when seasonal work is more available. |