A thrift store in Ottawa, Kansas, providing work opportunities for persons receiving services from COF.

COF Training Services, Inc. opened a large thrift store in December of 2016. It is called Thriftopia. It is a not-for-profit limited liability company (LLC). It is located in a strip mall among a larger number of other businesses on the south side of Ottawa, Kansas.
Thriftopia provides part time paid prevocational training employment for approximately 55 people who are intellectually and/or developmentally disabled. This employment is in an integrated setting.
The goal of thriftopia is to help individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities aqcuire the skills and competancies needed to gain competitive and integrated employment with employers who are not affiliated with COF.
The other goal of Thriftopia is to provide employment opportunities for those who otherwise have never been able to work in an integrated setting.
People from Ottawa and surrounding communities enjoy shopping at Thriftopia's store, located at 2210 South Princeton Drive, Ottawa, KS 66067.
Tax-deductible donations are dropped off at Thriftopia's south side receiving area.
Thriftopia activities may be followed on Facebook

Craig Evans is the director of Thriftopia. Contact information: cevans@iee-inc.org / 785-248-6207
Tiffany Griffin is the manager at Thriftopia. Contact information: tgriffin@cofts.org

IEE and Thriftopia are examples of actions that COF has taken to actually create jobs. This is necessary in rural areas where employment opportunities that people with I/DD are capable of filling are not always readily available in sufficient numbers.