The Justice

WORD UP: The back ceiling of the non profit More Than Words used-bookstore is covered with quotes and messages from the youth. Photo by David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

Jessica Ricci has two dreams. Her "realistic dream" is to someday write about music for the Boston Phoenix, and her "unrealistic dream," she says, is to write for Rolling Stone. I gather that Ricci, a 19-year-old employee at the youth-run More Than Words used bookstore on Moody Street, loves music.

Her iPod contains an eclectic mix that represents her diverse musical tastes. "Everything from classical to Britney Spears to Metal," she says, grinning.

Ricci is one of the 16 employees between the ages of 16 and 21 at More Than Words who comes from the foster care system or are homeless and are referred by the Department of Social Services, probation officers and non-profit agencies to the bookstore. More Than Words is essentially a job-training program for these youth. They run nearly every operation of the non-profit-including managing their own book sections, arranging the displays, running the register and shipping books-- for six to 12 months, before leaving for college or another job.

Ricci sits downstairs in the More Than Words basement, a space whose walls are lined with bright blue and yellow posters with aphorisms like "Negotiation is About Compromise" and others dedicated to the "Principles of Selling." Seemingly endless rows of books line the far left side of the basement. I am told that employees are in the process of sorting and organizing these books to display in their sections or ship off to customers. A master schedule with staff shifts and store events hangs directly across from the shelves on the opposite wall.

Nearby, Matt Soloman, an 18-year-old associate with blonde-streaked hair, who has worked at the store for about one-and-a-half months, shows several new employees how to enter their work hours into an Excel spreadsheet and calculate the percentages of their attendance and punctuality.

When Soloman gets frustrated with the spreadsheet, Jodi Rosenbaum, the store's director, turns to him: "Take a deep breath. We're on the same team, kiddo." She guides him step by step, and when he understands how to perform the function, he turns to the boys around him and explains it to them, epitomizing the wisdom behind experiential learning.

Continued...

Page 1 of 8 next >

Article Tools