Seeing is believing for one area doctor
Just dropping by: Odyssey Climbing + Fitness in Ashwaubenon
June 24, 2024
LA CROSSE – It takes a special person to create a business that employs recently released felons – teaching them employment skills as they look to reenter the workforce and community.
In La Crosse, that person is Willa MacKenzie.
An educator at Western Technical College, MacKenzie said she has worked in correctional education for 20-plus years in the State of Wisconsin, most recently through the La Crosse County Jail.
She said she also works with those who are studying for their GED (General Equivalency Diploma) or their HSED (High School Equivalency Diploma).
MacKenzie took her advocacy one step further recently – opening La Crosse DaaBIN Store, a new thrift-type retail store that employs recently released felons.
Focus on re-entry into the community
In conjunction with the jail, MacKenzie said the college offers a re-entry services program – called Project PROVEN.
The program, she said, is designed for incarcerated persons, particularly adults, who are looking for education and employment opportunities when they get out.
MacKenzie, who teaches in the program, said it helps inmates learn or do the following:
- Complete the GED/HSED and/or enroll in college or certification programming
- Gain or improve upon skills to assist in obtaining employment, such as filling out applications, interviewing, resume development, job search and networking
- Gain or improve upon skills to help maintain a job, such as interpersonal relations, conflict resolution, customer service, etc.
- Identify community resources that may be useful
- Budgeting and financial management
- Basic computer skills training
“I teach in the jail…,” she said. “I’ve been preparing people for the workforce for the last 18 years. We teach all the skills necessary to go into the workforce and be successful – they don’t have the easy paths other people have had. I teach them what their tools are in their toolbelt so they can go out and be the best they can be for everything.”
Though she works with GED/HSED students occasionally, MacKenzie said the majority of her time is spent with incarcerated adults, teaching them job and employability skills.
“In the county jail… people coming in are those who usually already have a high school diploma,” she said. “They’ve had drunk driving charges, drug charges or something else.”
The ages of inmates she works with, MacKenzie said, usually range from 18 to 67.
The education level of the inmates she teaches can also vary – anything from a third-grade education to as high as a master’s or doctorate.
Sprinkled in among those learners, MacKenzie said, are English Language Learners (ELL).
How many she teaches at any given time, she said, depends on the jail population.
“One day, I might have classes of 13 – other times I have classes of six,” she said.
A desire to help
MacKenzie said when she first heard about the DaaBIN Stores chain and its philosophy of inclusion, she started thinking about how she could start a franchise and make it work for her students in jail.
She said she hoped she could provide jobs to serve as a springboard to other jobs later.
MacKenzie said she began looking for a space in April 2023 – an effort that took several months – eventually settling on a former Dress Barn location in the Valley View Mall.
MacKenzie said it took several more months of renovation – which included gutting the interior of the store to get it to a place where it would work for their needs.
But finally, at the end of April 2024, she said, the store opened.
“The first day we opened, we had about 240 people waiting in line to get in, but it usually averages about 80 people a day,” she said.
A man who worked in construction before falling into substance abuse issues and ended up being homeless, MacKenzie said, built many things in the store, including the countertops.
“He built things in our store no one else could ever build,” she said. “He fashioned, designed and built our entire front checkout counter out of a couple of old Dress Barn jewelry cases. The name of the store was burned into the countertop.”
What about that name?
The name DaaBIN may look funny, but MacKenzie said there is a special meaning behind it.
Andy Weichers, the CEO of DaaBIN, and his wife, Amanda, wanted theirs, their two kids’ (Delaney and Beau) initials of their first names to be in the business name – DaaB.
The IN comes from inclusivity (specifically for his son who was born with a rare genetic condition) – and, MacKenzie said, most of the items sold in the store are in bins.
“Andy always thought it would be about inclusion of (children with disabilities) and stuff like that because he had a handicapped son,” she said. “But I told him… I was looking at people who were disenfranchised workers – the ones that have all the skills necessary to work, but who nobody will hire because of their criminal background. That is what I’m passionate about.”
MacKenzie said the model Weichers developed for the DaaBIN stores was the perfect setting for what she wanted to accomplish.
“You don’t have to have a high-skill level, but you have to know customer service down to a tee because bringing the customers in is the most important criteria of this job they’re doing for me…,” she said. “The philosophy of the store is we bring people in and give them a job. It’s not a hard job, but it is a job that is inclusive of so many in a different population that might otherwise not get jobs.”
Of the approximately 15 DaaBIN stores currently in operation, MacKenzie said most are franchise operations with Weichers at the helm.
The La Crosse store is the first one employing inmates, but MacKenzie said the Weichers are pleased and excited about how it is already functioning, and that Andy is looking at it to be a model for future stores.
“If I get my system in place correctly, it’s going to be used and work in other stores he has,” she said. “I want this model of mine to go into other DaaBIN stores. I’ve found the perfect model for somebody who’s coming out of incarceration and into re-entry. We don’t work Thursday or Friday. Drug Court is Thursday, and many people have lost their jobs (elsewhere) because they had to go to Drug Court (and the employers didn’t want to give them the time off to go).”
MacKenzie said their attendance is important because if they can’t maintain their sobriety, “they’re not going to be any good for the workforce.”
How the DaaBIN store works
MacKenzie said Weichers buys semis filled with overstocked and returned items, commonly from major retailers that haven’t sold, and ships them to DaaBIN franchisees.
The store, she said, receives a load every week of about 13 pallets of items.
On Wednesdays, MacKenzie said the staff brings that load into the store and clean, sanitize and fill bins up with items between noon and 8 p.m.
DaaBIN store prices, she said, change daily as outlined below:
- Saturday: All bin items are $7 each
- Sunday: All bin items are $5 each
- Monday: All bin items are $3 each
- Tuesday: All bin items are $1 each
- Wednesday: Fill a bag of items for $10
MacKenzie said DaaBIN also sells what they call “BIGS” – items in big boxes that don’t fit in bins.
Those things, she said, can include anything from car parts to large gaming boards.
No inventory is carried over from week to week.
MacKenzie said they take out what doesn’t sell and replace it with new items.
At 7 p.m. on Thursday nights, she said the store hosts a Thursday Night Live Show on Facebook, where employees show a little of what they’ll have in the bins come Saturday.
It’s still in its infancy stage, but MacKenzie said she hopes to eventually get to 250 viewers of the livestream.
“The store is like a big treasure hunt – you never know what you’re going to find,” she said. “You would be amazed at all the things we get. For example, two weeks ago, we had PRADA glasses. They retailed for like $247 apiece. People got them here for $7.”
MacKenzie said finding things and seeing products you’ve never thought of using before, and all of a sudden – “they’re there for you to buy at a discounted price – that’s the pleasure of it.”
“Along with meeting people and being in a place so pleasant to be in,” she said. “It’s not a hustle-and-bustle place. People can take their time and enjoy themselves.”
MacKenzie said there’s a big benefit for her employees, too.
Oftentimes, she said, they’re seen merely as criminals or as someone who’s worn out their welcome.
“But in the store, they’re seen as employees who are providing excellent customer service and going out of their way to help,” she said. “Everybody who works for me is a valued employee – a valued customer service representative of the store who will do anything for you. It’s that unique and special.”
MacKenzie said she so strongly believes in this store and what it is doing for the employees, and the community as a whole, that she put her money where her mouth was – pulling some $30,000 from her 401(k) plan to help finance it.
Her 73-year-old sister, Alice Mensendike, is the manager.
MacKenzie said she’s going to work for her for about 16 months to get it going while she continues working with inmates in the jail.
“I believe these people in jail are our neighbors,” she said. “They’re going to get out and live beside us. Their children are going to go to school with our kids. We need to support them and help them move forward. With DaaBIN, we are helping do that.”
For more information, visit daabinstore.com/la-crosse.
