Serving The Arc
In 2016, I led a team of professionals from various Twin Cities businesses on a service project for The Arc Greater Twin Cities. The experience was part of the transformative Leadership Saint Paul program through the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. I chose this project because of a deep interest in social enterprise and a desire to contribute to a movement that positively impacts individuals in my community.
Our challenge was to inspire donation drives and raise awareness for Arc’s Value Village, a retail component of The Arc that collects gently used clothing and household goods to resell through five thrift store locations.
Arc’s Value Village sales make up around 50% of the funding necessary for The Arc to provide assistance and services for individuals with developmental disabilities, actively supporting them and their families in a lifetime of full inclusion and participation in their communities.
We started by volunteering at Arc’s Value Village Saint Paul to get firsthand experience in the donation center. The Saint Paul location is very busy for retail shopping but slow for donations due to location, competition, and other constraints. Our team decided to set a lofty goal and organize a drive. We connected with nine downtown Saint Paul residential buildings, created promotional content, coordinated logistics for donation pick-ups, and over one week collected 6,045 pounds of donated items.
After assessing the drive, we created a digital toolkit that can be used by any person or organization interested in being the champion of their own clothing drive for Arc’s. The toolkit includes a checklist, written content for newsletters, social media imagery for promotion, and templates for posters, flyers, and thank you notes. We have commitments from a handful of local organizations that will pilot the toolkit and provide feedback for improvements and changes moving forward. This community service project was incredibly fulfilling and our team had a great time engaging and working hard together. (Take a look my presentation.)
Before this experience, I was an active thrift shopper because of a personal belief in reusing and repurposing to reduce production resources and support transparency in the fashion industry. After gaining a deeper understanding of the valuable services that The Arc provides for individuals and families in the Twin Cities, my commitment to donating, volunteering, and shopping with The Arc is stronger than ever.
To contribute to The Arc, please drop off items at one of the donation centers (or donate online), volunteer your time at a store, or shop at Arc’s Value Village to find unique items while supporting this worthy cause.