Leadership Lexington's 2012 Class Revamps LICS

A Lexington nonprofit organization is getting a makeover thanks to Leadership Lexington's 2012 class. 

The class started re-organizing the thrift store at Saturday.

"We want to take it from a thrift store to more of a boutique," said Jennifer Moore, a member of Leadership Lexington, a nonprofit educational organization that presents a year-long study of the issues facing Lexington County.

Each year, the Leadership Lexington class chooses a project to benefit the community. This year, the class voted to work with LICS.

"They do very good work in the community addressing basic needs," Moore said, "and we felt like we would really be able to help." 

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LICS, an organization that provides food, clothing and shelter for families in crisis situations, relies on the thrift store for part of its revenue.

People who come to LICS in need of clothes are allowed to pick out clothes and shoes from the store.

Robin Bowers, executive director for LICS, worked with the class to decide what the organization's needs are. 

"We've got a brand new building. We don't need a lot we don't have," Bowers said. "So what we did was we gave them our wish list." 

The class also plans to install a new gate at the back to help secure the property and a new sign at the entrance. 

A wrap for the LICS truck is also in the works. Members of the class are looking for a business that could wrap the truck with the organization's name at a discounted price.

LICS uses the truck to pick up furniture donations, Bowers said, but once it's wrapped, they can park it at grocery stores or churches and collect food donations.

"That's going to be huge," Bowers said. "Just some name recognition in the community is what they're going for." 

The Leadership Lexington class also plans to hold a food drive for LICS in the fall.