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AUSTIN — Students can trade good deeds for new shoes, school supplies and Blackhawks merchandise at Joe Freshgoods’ new store inside Michele Clark High School.
Students at Michele Clark, 5101 W. Harrison St., obtain points for good grades and acts of kindness, and they can exchange them for Converse and New Balance shoes, tablets, clothing and more at the store, Open Market Goods. The store, which opened Friday, was designed by Joe “Freshgoods” Robinson and created in partnership with the Blackhawks.
“I’m a born and raised West Sider, and I want these kids to have the chance to dream as big as I did,” Robinson said. “I know that seeing their faces getting excited got me more excited.”
Robinson has been working on the store for 10 years. The idea for it was loosely inspired by his childhood dream of having McDonald’s at his own school and his more recent travels to Tokyo, Paris and Accra, Ghana, he said.
Principal Charles Anderson said the goal of the store is to reward good behavior and give children equitable means to acquire their rewards. Anderson hopes the endeavor will inspire students to want to make good choices, regardless of the reward, he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students and community,” Anderson said. “This has the chance to make a real positive impact for the kids to want to go beyond.”
The Blackhawks and Community Goods hosted a workshop for Michele Clark students to help design a warm-up jersey the team wore during their Saturday game. Students and their families went to the game to see the team in action.
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