Tiny but Mighty

Mikayla Tew, a former residential student at French Camp Academy writes her story about volunteering in Double Blessings, a thrift store owned by French Camp Academy in French Camp, Mississippi:

Double Blessings is in French Camp, Mississippi. Off the Natchez Trace, this tiny building is the first thing you see entering French Camp. The worn white paneling on the front of the small, one-room establishment makes one feel welcomed in. The small deck usually holds furniture, exercise machines, or other items too large to fit into the petite floorplan. The small bell attached to the door jingles as you enter, and one is hit with a smell distinct to the Double Blessings thrift store.

Double Blessings is a key part of French Camp, specifically, French Camp Academy. FCA is a Christian boarding school dedicated to providing children with a stable home and experience to take into the world post-high school. Mrs. Cindy Cox, who manages Double Blessings, is a key part of this system. As a dorm parent and a work crew boss, Mrs. Cox has made an impact on many young people’s lives and has made an even bigger impact on the larger community of French Camp as a whole.

Mrs. Cox and I met right across the street from Double Blessings at the quirky coffee shop, The Sip. While we shared a coffee, she told me a bit about the decor surrounding us. “Over half of this is from the thrift store.” I remember watching the owners come into the thrift store and buy all this decor over the years.”

Inside Double Blessings, there is a vast array of items. From shoes, glassware, clothes, toys, or even dentures, something Mrs. Cox said was the strangest thing she had ever found. She happily told me about how she had pranked one of the workers by hiding the dentures behind a glass, and that it was “something they both laughed about to this day.” All the aforementioned items are priced incredibly reasonably. No clothing item hund on the wracks is over $2, and all kitchen appliances are $5 and under.

Cox said that keeping prices low is what is most important to her. Double Blessings is entirely non-profit: donating all profits to the Academy and running off volunteer work rather than full-time workers. Every dollar earned from the thrift store goes to scholarships for children and teens to attend FCA; furthering the school’s mission of giving youth a stable home.

Work crew is yet another thing Cox does to give back to the young minds at FCA. AFter school or on Saturdays, dorm students come to the thrift store to work. Mrs. Cox has a degree in Retail management and uses her background in retail to help young people prepare for a common job in society. Cox an dI both agreed that retial is an instrumental job in our society; one that often gets underappreciated and overlooked. Life would be chaos without the retail workers who make shopping a possibility: keeping stores stocked, staffing cash registers, or even aiding shoppers. Work crew and Work Based Learning (another program at FCA that involves working a job during a class period) both give students a wonderfully packed resume to help the students develop skiils in retial that will last a lifetime.

Mrs. Cox told me about a few girls who had managed to snag retail jobs at stores like Hollister, or higher end positions in managing and marketing. Something as simple as working at a small-town thrift store during high school could score someone an incredibly well-paying job during college or in general.

Double Blessings’ contributions are not just material. While we were preparing to leave, Cox began to tell me about a woman. This woman would come in often; weekly or biweekly, she would come into the store andhave a chat with the people behind the counter. Eventually, this woman was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her weekly shopping trips became weekly prayer trips, always dropping by for a prayer before her treatments. This woman is still doing well and is cancer free today.

Double Blessings is not just a thrift store. It is actively contributing to furthering the lives and education of the young people who pass through FCA’s doors. It is the unassuming foundation of many students’ funding for education, and most importantly, Double Blessings is a beacon of kindness and warmth to many members of French Camp’s tiny community.

Works sited: Cox, Cindy. Personal interview, 2 October 2024.

frenchcampacademy