Students can always use a helping hand. In the case of Hall-McCarter Education Center students, they can rely on a helping paw – Paw-Mart, that is. Paw-Mart was started at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year to give HMEC students the opportunity to shop for clothing, household supplies and other items at thrift store prices. This fulfills a need of both convenience and necessity for anyone attending programs in the Hall-McCarter Education Center. It also provides students another opportunity to increase their sales and marketing skills. Proceeds go into an account along with the Panther Pantry. Money is used for student and staff needs and supplies.

"The store has continued to grow since the day we started," said Paw-Mart advisor Chris VanCamp. "Kids are always looking for clothes and we have a good selection. It’s convenient for the students and staff and it’s a great way for kids to learn about sales and working in retail. We have a lot of students that have earned a lot of trade value and we keep it all in our account books. The students have a good time shopping and running the store.

Item donations come from HMEC staff and students and include everything from shirts, jeans and hats to purses, books and craft. Staff members receive tax donation receipts for fair market value of items. Students earn fair-market value for their donations and then get a store credit for 20% of that amount. That credit can be used at Paw-Mart only.

Van Camp’s Retail Lab class runs Paw-Mart and store hours are the same as the Panther Pantry – 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m., 8:50 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., and 12:40 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. each weekday.