Chrystal McKellar, left, and Isley McKellar share a sweet moment during the Kids Market at Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon, La Grande, on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

By TRISH YERGES • For The Observer

LA GRANDE — Every first Saturday of the month, young entrepreneurs will become commercial vendors at the new Community Kindness Kids Market event set up in the foyer of the Community Kindness Thrift Store at 1315 Adams Ave., La Grande, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

This opportunity is extended to kids younger than 18 to give them some retail experiences in a safe, enclosed environment, sponsored by Liz and Grant Meyer of Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon, a nonprofit organization that operates the thrift store.

“We have a large foyer, and I thought we should make use of that for the children,” Liz Meyer said. “There’s a restroom there and a phone to call out, and it’s enclosed.”

The Meyers got the idea from something they observed at the La Grande Farmers Market.

“I’ve seen this done once a year at the farmers market and saw a lot of the children down there, and that’s good that they could do it, but it was sad that they didn’t get an opportunity to sell their talents or crafts more than once a year,” Liz Meyer said.

Consequently, the Meyers brainstormed the idea to invite kids to set up a market inside their store’s foyer once a month to give them additional experiences. The invitation went out on social media, and the kids started pre-registering quickly.

“We have about six tables, and we’re actually booked up through most of April for the Kids Market,” Liz Meyer said. “We do have a couple of slots open for April yet, and when the weather gets nicer, kids can also set up a couple of tables outside the store windows.”

Youth vendors will be selling baked goods they have made themselves, and they will sell a lot of different handmade crafts. They must supply their own tables and chairs, along with the items they want to sell. If the vender interest grows, it’s possible, Meyer said, that they could also expand into the second floor.

“We’ll have posters up and advertise the Kids Market all over Facebook,” she said. “We want to give the kids a chance to step forward and learn to be businesspeople. They may or may not sell too much at first, but that’s just how real business is sometimes, and they need to learn that too.”

The real-life business experiences will become their tutor as they navigate through the Kids Market venue and deal with real consumers.

“I’m quite excited for them,” Meyer said. “We have a recognition wall in our foyer where I have displayed children’s prints and paintings that I got from the farmers market. I’ve displayed them quite proudly, I might say.”

The Meyers want to recognize that there are children in the community who aren’t top athletes, actors and actresses, but they have a lot of talents to share.

“Please come down and visit us at the Kids Market,” Liz Meyer said. “We want to support the kids. They have worked so hard on the drawing, baking, sorting and organizing because this is quite an eventful time for them.”

The Meyers have been operating from the ground floor of their thrift store for the past four years now, and last March they set up a clothing department on the second floor.

“We’ve given the public another nice, clean place to shop, and it’s a nonprofit,” she said. “The profits go back into the community.”

Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon LLC is a nonprofit that partners with other community groups to reach out and show kindness to others.

“Unity builds community, and that’s extremely important,” Meyer said.