By Peter Zubler, Executive Director
Whether you’ve been a supporter of SVdP for a short time or many years, we hope you came to understand one thing very quickly: We work very hard to be good custodians of your donations—making sure they are used to help our neighbors in need.
When in-kind donations are dropped off at one of our many blue bins around town (clothing/soft goods only) or our Distribution Center (clothing, furniture, appliances), we thoughtfully consider how it will be used. We first look to see if there is any designation or direction assigned to the donation (i.e. Homeless Ministry).
- If there is an assigned designation, we take the donation directly to those SVdP ministries.
- If there is no designation, the donation is sorted and distributed to either individuals/families in need, our homeless ministries, or to our two Mission 27 stores.
The Mission of Mission 27: Nutritious Food, CLF & Being a Good Neighbor
When items are directed to our Mission 27 stores, we’re able to resell them and use the proceeds to help even more neighbors. The profit from our Mission 27 stores are used to fund two vital SVdP programs:
- Nutritious food distributed at our food pantry
- Our Changing Lives Forever (CLF) program
We collect donations of furniture, household goods, bicycles, clothing and appliances five days per week and typically have 50 residential donation pick-ups in that same time. This has provided a regular and consistent inventory of good quality furniture and household items available for those who call us for help, as well as those who shop our stores. We also have a several generous corporate donors who provide household retail products as well as monetary gifts. All of this translates into dollars that support our missions and the people we serve.
In addition to generating revenue to support our programs, the Mission 27 stores have allowed us to love our nearby neighbors, including Hope House, Horizon House, Catholic Youth Organization, IndyHumane and the SENSE Charter School.
An Investment in SVdP
An investment in Mission 27 is an investment in SVdP. With a consistent revenue from the stores, we’re in a better position to not only respond to the needs within our community, but actually begin to predict them, which enhances the efficacy of our response. We’ve not veered from the mission of helping people in need—we’re now just more equipped to do so.
