People have asked, “How are SVdP Thrift Stores connected to our overall mission?”
This is a great question. Many SVdP thrift stores have been around for a long time raising financial resources and giving merchandise from their stores to help their Neighbors in Need (NIN).
Other stores, like the one you will see in the video link below, are an example of how a SVdP Conference began operating a store and can now expand their resources to serve their NIN better with greater resources generated from their store.
The Conference in St. Johns, Mich. (current population <8,000) was aggregated in 1946.
For 50 years, this conference served Neighbors in Need (NIN) who called their St. Joseph Parish office seeking assistance. Vincentians would respond to calls and assist Neighbors in Need (NIN) with monetary donations that had been received by the Conference.
In 1996, this Conference’s annual client aid was around $7,000.
In that same year, the Conference was asked to take over the operations of a clothing center that was planning to close. Vincentian-John Thelen stated, “A small group of Vincentians met, discussed the pros/cons to getting into the retail arena, then prayed about what to do.” Thelen added, “If our small group of Vincentians had decided not take over the operation of that store, we wouldn’t be able to serve our Neighbors in Need (NIN) like we do today.”
The store has grown from all-volunteer run to a staff of fifteen paid employees and over one hundred active volunteers!
Nearly 30 years later, this SVdP Conference store has been blessed to be able to give over $250,000 annually in client aid to their Neighbors in Need (NIN)!
This Conference continues to look for ways to serve Neighbors in Need (NIN)in a way that gives them a leg up out of a situation, rather than just a handout towards their need.
This store in a small rural community is like many stores across the United States providing the financial resources to their Conference or Council to serve our Neighbors in Need (NIN).
SVdP stores do make a difference in the lives of those who are in need.
Video link: https://youtu.be/2asWT9lA1Lo?si=iRvPcOBxA7mXavt_
If you have questions about what’s involved with opening a store or if you would like to see how your store can generate more revenue to meet the expanded requests of our Neighbors in Need (NIN), please reach out to Jeff Beamguard, Director of Stores Support, at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.
Additional resources are also available on the SVdP National Thrift Stores website at https://thriftstores.ssvpusa.org.