Resale shop helps fight cancer

Jackson Bell

Burbank shopping options increased this week with the grand

opening of the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop and Cancer

Information Center.

“There are things here normally found in thrift stores, but

upscale and high quality,” store manager Garrett Hooper said. “It’s

really a fun place to come and search for little gems. People save

their best stuff for us because they know the money goes to a good

cause.”

The 11,000-square-foot building at 500 N. Victory Blvd. also

houses the Discovery Shop’s California headquarters, which oversees

eight county sites and 43 statewide shops.

Previously based in Glendale, Hooper said the relocation was due

to the availability of a large site with convenient freeway access

and a landlord, Marc Kaye of Kaye Investment & Management, who

provided such lease incentives as reduced rent for the first few

months, extra repairs and a new shop entrance.

“There is a long history of cancer in my family on both sides, and

my wife’s family is prone to it as well,” Kaye said. “So it’s a

problem of humanity that is very compelling to us, and that we should

be supportive because they are doing such important work.”

Also operating as a consolidation store for the county shops,

Hooper added that most items are reduced an additional 75% from their

25%-off retail prices. The Burbank location raised $20,000 from four

weeks of sales before Monday’s grand opening.

The Discovery Shop also features interactive computers, literature

on cancer and a free makeover session called “Look Good, Feel

Better,” with a wig salon for women undergoing cancer treatment.

Upcoming programs include seminars, classes and counseling.

“As a survivor myself, I’d like to turn [the Discovery Shop] into

a place where people can feel at ease and welcome,” said Hooper, who

was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1997. “A home away from

home.”

A first-time shopper whose mother and nephew died from cancer,

former Burbank resident Eddie Richard Gomez plans to make regular

trips to the shop.

“I think it’s great because it’s helping fight cancer and the

prices are excellent,” he said. “Hopefully, this will help them find

a cure.”