By Sherri Fry, Mission Store Board of Directors
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all the people who volunteer to keep this store going. We couldn’t do it without you.
The Alliance Mission Store would like to share some facts with you, all of our volunteers, all of our customers, and the people who donate to our store because you all mean so much to us.
First and foremost – we are very thankful for your donations and your business. We just wanted the public to know that we are a “different type of business” than your ordinary businesses here in Alliance. Unlike other stores in Alliance, we operate on an all volunteer staff. Therefore we have a small amount of overhead. Since we are all volunteer it is hard to compare us with other stores in Alliance. We are all very thankful for the businesses in Alliance that employ people. This keeps Alliance going strong. Out of the monies earned from selling items at the store, we pay for the heat, air conditioning, lights, and building maintenance, and numerous sanitizer products. After that, the money is saved to be given away during our grant program for the year.
The Alliance Mission Store is a blessing for all those who have been helped by its mission, but to run the Mission Store is a process in itself, more so than simply hanging clothes in the store. Since Covid, the way we sort all items has changed. We now have a Board Team that sorts through everything and puts it in containers to be hung or put out by our great volunteer groups, alleviating anything that is broken or chipped. Clothing is presorted to help with identifying broken zippers, missing buttons, etc. Things are wiped off, cleaned up and in some instances sprayed with sanitizer.
So where does this unusable clothing go?
We purchased a new very large baler that is located at the back of the store in the sorting room. We make up large 6’x6’ bales of clothing that cannot or does not sell in the store within a certain period of time. Keep Alliance Beautiful (KAB) helps us stack the bales upstairs in the back room and in the sorting room by the dock until we have enough for a semi to come and recycle them. We sell them by the pound to various buyers to be recycled once again. Some buyers send them overseas and some keep them elsewhere in the U.S. All monies received from the selling of the bales goes into the bank to be given in grants right here in Box Butte County.
Our Mission Statement is as follows:
Our Mission is to provide opportunity to --
*Accept donated clothing and household goods
*Recycle to others
*Help those in need
*Foster community volunteerism
*Respond to emergencies
Just an FYI for all of you who donate “Holiday” items…we have a special team that sorts & saves those type of items to be put out for sale during that specific holiday time.
We receive a lot of books and we have a special group of volunteers that sort the books by category and some are even alphabetized by author. Of course, not all books can be saved for months…our books are rotated regularly after bag days and are again recycled through several other entities here in Box Butte County. (Bag Days are a certain price for a grocery bag full of your choice of items. These days are the 2nd Saturday and the last Thursday of each month).
The Mission Store is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All organized, non-profit groups are eligible for funds through the Mini-Grant Program. This program starts each year on September 1st and runs to October 15. Anyone wanting to apply for a grant, may come into the store and ask for a grant application at the front desk beginning Sept. 1st. One of our main rules for grants is that you cannot use the money to pay someone’s wage.
In 2021 we awarded $62,935.00 in grants throughout Box Butte County.
Again, thank you Box Butte County and beyond for your donations to our store.