Written by: Don Schiffgens, Southeast Region, Diocese of Palm Beach
Funding the SVDP mission — We are certainly blessed to have so many sources for funding our mission including grants, parish collections, our benefactors, various fundraisers like the Friends of the Poor Walk, various special works, etc. One of the biggest sources of revenue for many Conferences and Councils is our Thrift Stores. In my home state of Florida, Thrift Stores in the fiscal year ended September 2022 reported $12.4 million dollars of revenue from 31 stores having a combined surplus of nearly $3 million to assist our Neighbors in Need.
Eco friendly — As we know, it’s all about our environment these days as we see electric cars, energy saving appliances, solar power, etc. Thrift stores do their part in saving our environment by extending the lives of produced products and landfills. Many used commodities that come to our stores are repurposed and sold. Many of our stores rag out to the world textile market.
Vogue — Thrift stores are part of a multi-billion dollar growing industry. Thrifts are prevailing, they are in fashion and provide a fun place to shop for value and diversity.
Employment — Stores provide jobs! In our recent annual reporting cycle, my state of Florida reported $3.8 million in paid wages and benefits providing income for 150 employees and their families. Many stores provide work opportunities and new job skills for community service workers.
Value — Stores offer value to their customers and especially in difficult times. Shoppers are looking to best utilize the declining value of their dollars i.e. thrift stores. Stores also provide a myriad of in-kind donations at no or little cost to thousands of needy families.
I remember seeing a sign on a store entrance door several years ago at the annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin that said it quite well: “Help your budget, help your environment, and help your neighbor in need.”
Lord, we thank you for the many blessings provided by our Thrift Stores!
If you are considering a new store please contact the store committee for assistance: jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.
The National Assembly is fast approaching in September. If you haven’t made plans to attend, we hope you sign up for the day-long Stores Meeting on September 6, 2023 in St. Louis, MO. You will leave this meeting with valuable information to take back to your store.
Here is our agenda for the National Stores Committee Day on Wednesday, August 6
Rooms G & H
THEME: National Store — Success
- Opening prayer- Agenda for the day 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
- Motivational Speaker- Dr Snyder- Director of Phoenix Dental Clinic 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Q & A
- Working Lunch with Executive Directors 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
- Break 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
- Stores Committee Members Presentations: 2:00 PM – 3:45 PM
- Staffing and Donations
- Productivity and Point of Sale
- Innovations
- Future of National Stores
- Drawing for prizes will occur after Committee Member Presentations. Must be present to win!
Prizes to include:
- $250 Amazon Gift Card
- Trip for 1 to attend the 2024 National Assembly in Phoenix (Restrictions Apply)
- Trip for 1 to attend training at the National Training Store in Avondale, AZ (Restrictions Apply)
- Dinner for 2 ($200 value) Executive Director group only
The morning will start with a motivational message from Dr. Snyder-Director of the Phoenix Dental Clinic. This will be followed by important information about the National Training Store’s growth and success in Phoenix during the last three years. You will hear valuable information that could help your store grow just like the National Store has grown. You will hear two testimonials from Rick Bologna & Bryan Engle about their experience either visiting the National Training Store or who requested Jeff Beamguard to visit their store to do an assessment.
The afternoon will be dedicated to hearing information about store staffing, increasing donations, profitability, Point-of-Sale (POS), sharing of innovative ideas to think of new ways to serve and information about a future National Training Store in Fairview, IL.
For those attending the Stores Meeting in its entirety on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, they will be eligible for the door prizes shown on the agenda.
You don’t want to miss out!!
Please encourage your store personnel to subscribe to the e-Gazette, by emailing mboyer@svdpusa.org.
If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail our Jeff Beamguard, National Director of Stores Support at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.
Hello,
I am the president of the conference in Casa Grande, AZ. We have outgrown the store we acquired about 28 years ago. The City has requested developers submit a letter of interest for a 1.5 acre empty city block. We were selected on their Short List. Total available square feet for a new building on that lot is 30,000. On it we would build a 15,000 foot store – currently we have 6,000. We would also increase the size of our food pantry and offices from 2,000 ft to 5,000 feet. We also would add up to 2,500 feet of storage space for the store. The remaining space would be allocated to services focused on education and training the homeless and struggling families in need to become productive and self-sustaining citizens. This would involve the local college, a 90-day program, temporary housing, a chapel, etc.
Are there grants SVDP could provide us to build this new facility?
BY THE WAY:
THE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR JBEAMGUARD@SVDPUSA.ORG IS NOT FUNCTIONAL. PLEASE PROVIDE THE CORRECT EMAIL. THANK YOU.