Jenn’s Thoughts

The Hope Community Thrift store was started by a group of dedicated individuals from our church. I happen to think that thrift stores are pretty exciting in and of themselves (reduce, reuse, recycle), but this thrift store goes above and beyond all that. First, a little bit about them, from their website:

Hope Community Foundation activities are to receive donated items, i.e. clothes, furniture, appliances, medical equipment, etc. from the surrounding community and distribute these items to individuals and families in need of assistance. We are currently serving the St. Louis surrounding area.

Items are donated by people like me and you and then are sold at the thrift store. People in need can be qualified, through their church or organization, to receive vouchers for free items.

A family or individual needs to be qualified through a non-profit organization i.e. church or community civic organization. Each non-profit organization will need a community assistance director or of similar status. The community assistance director will be responsible for qualifying the family or individual in need and determine necessary items. The family or individual in need will be provided a voucher from the community assistance director allowing them to receive needed items at no cost from the Hope distribution center.

But wait, that’s not all…

Everyone who mans the store is a volunteer. The money they would have received in wages is donated to the church or non-profit that they represent! You can help in three ways:

Hope Community Foundation – provides you the ability to help your community:

1. Basic Items, i.e. furniture, appliances, clothes, etc. can be donated to help families or individuals in need.

2. Time – multiple positions needed. Presently at this time Hope is completely a volunteer organization with no paid employees. Time is precious to all of us, so the positions or duties are broken into small segments. This will ensure one person is not overloaded and will allow individuals the ability to donate just a few hours at their convenience. Some example positions are bookkeeper, laborers to pick up donated items, scheduler, website programmer, social networker, etc.

3. And of course – money. This is not the main focus of this organization but is still needed to help pay for storage of donated items.

The thrift store is located across from the post office in Arnold, MO, off of Jeffco Blvd, South of 141. The operating hours are M-F 9am-7pm and Sat 9am-5pm. Stop by and see what they have!

According to this article from CNN;

Over the course of the past year, the number of people in homeless shelters dipped slightly to 1.56 million, from 1.6 million a year earlier. This translates into one of every 200 Americans.

During the summer, we get busy. Vacations, family reunions, camp, and activities galore can keep us hopping and can be a strain on the budget, as well. Please don’t forget to keep giving. Hunger doesn’t take a vacation.

Use our shopping list and never forget your Just1 items again! Click on the Shopping List tab and then click on the link. Print it out, slap it on the front of the fridge and you’re ready to go!

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” which is great advice as long as you know what the “small stuff” is and what the “big stuff” is. This applies to all areas of our life, but it’s so very relevant when it comes to money and giving. If you regularly listen to financial gurus out there such as Dave Ramsey or Suze Ormond, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Again and Again, financial advisers caution people to watch not only their large purchases, but their small purchases as well. That daily run to Starbucks may not seem like much, but over the course of the year, it adds up to big money. Even banks are cluing in and have started offering keep-the-change type programs where those extra bits of money are funneled into savings. Maybe it’s all a trend. Or maybe wisdom is taking hold.

Little things are important. Little things add up.

Some people are fortunate enough to be able to give in big ways. Good for them! I would never discourage that. There’s satisfaction in being able to write a large check and bless someone with it. But not everyone can do that. I’d venture to say that the majority can’t do that. Does that mean we shouldn’t give at all? No, we can give in small ways. Week by week, month by month. We can learn to integrate giving into our daily lives. Small offerings, made faithfully, by a large group of people who are working toward a common goal, can have a very large impact indeed!

I hope you’ll join me and others in integrating giving into your life. Get your spouse involved. Get your children involved. Invite others to do the same. Maybe Just1 doesn’t work for you, but surely there is something that does! Find a cause you are passionate about and get creative. The small stuff matters!

I’m so glad you dropped by! Feel free to browse the site and please email me if you have any questions or suggestions.

According to an article by Kim Robertson, in the February 18, 2010 Arnold-Imperial Leader:

Homelessness is a growing problem in Jefferson County, and there aren’t enough resources to help the people who are living in their cars or on friends’ couches, local agencies report. “We have about 10 new calls a day from people who are homeless or in danger of losing their homes,” said Tracy Wiecking, assistant CEO of Comtrea, the county’s primary mental health agency.

Evelyn Timmerman of Arnold is president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold. She said there has been an increasing number of homeless people to serve. “It’s really sad. I feel so sorry for them,” she said. “But I’m frustrated because we don’t have enough money to help them.” The nonprofit group has depleted its funds in helping local people in need this winter, Timmerman said.

10 new calls a day. That really adds up. Fortunately, small gifts of generosity add up, too. If just 20 people, who shop once a week, commit to Just1, we can donate about 1,040 items a year (52 weeks)! What if even more people helped? What if we got to a point where the number of donations exceeded the number of people in need? I think that dream is a very real possibility.

Just1 is about helping others in small ways, using the time and resources you have available to you right here, right now. Being a part of Just1 is easy! Make it a habit to purchase Just1 extra item every time you do your grocery shopping and donate the items when you are ready.