The warehouse guys and the scrap metal.Bales in our warehouse. | Today we thought it would be fun to talk a little about our recycling project at the Open Door Mission. Due to the fact that we are always looking to find new ways to help raise funds for our Outreach programs, food pantry and homeless shelter, we decided to reexamine our donations and make sure we were using all donations as effectively as possible. It was through this process that some of the gentlemen working in our warehouse began to work with scrap metal. From broken Christmas lights to damaged pots and pans, the men began to see the opportunity to recycle. We have been thrilled to see how much the program has grown and all of the outreach that it has provided for. In addition to helping with raise funds through scraping it has reduced the cost of our garbage bill. Recycling metal is not the only way that we work to help the environment at the Open Door Mission. Here at the Mission we do not throw away clothing or shoes unless we absolutely have to, instead the items that we cannot use are baled and sent to third world countries. We really are in the reuse, repurpose and recycling business with our thrift stores. Instead of throwing out unwanted items the Mission gives people the opportunity to pass them along to another person, and in some cases to people all over the world. Also rather than going to a store and having to buy brand new you can reuse and repurpose used items. Why buy new when you can get it used for half the price, right? If you are wondering about how you can do your part for both your community and planet consider going through you closet and getting rid of some of those old tee shirts from high school you never wear anymore, or other items that you always seem to be tripping over in your house, and donate them to a local charity. Don't forget shopping can be just as great as donating for many thrift stores like the Open Door Mission and The Red Door! With each purchase you are helping fund our different forms of community outreach, also by buying used, you are creating less waste. Can you think of a better reason to go on a shopping spree?! |
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Here at the Tioga County Open Door Mission we are always trying to get as much done as we can with the few number of hands we have on any given day, but October 17th was different. On this day thanks to the wonderful employees of Lockheed Martin we were fortunate enough to have an army of navy blue tee-shirted helpers. Our amazing volunteers spent half of the day helping us with everything and anything we needed assistance with. For some of the volunteers Christmas really was in the air. Some volunteers spent the afternoon opening countless boxes filled with Christmas items and loading our shelves for the holiday season. These volunteers did a great job of making our store ready for the Christmas season, helping the Mission to have more items on display for one of our busiest times of the year. The Christmas spirit was not only found in the store but in our Outreach Department too. The holidays are one of our most exciting as well as hectic times in our Outreach Department because some of our largest events are held during this season. One of those events is our children's Christmas parties which are held at both our Owego and Waverly locations. At these events each child that attends is given a toy for Christmas, so as you may guess that means a lot of tape and wrapping paper. Our Lockheed Martin friends jumped right into the spirit and had a wonderful time helping us take on our massive wrapping challenge. Our warehouse was also buzzing with active with the help of our Lockheed volunteers. Harrison worked with a number of volunteers to help teach them how we separate metals for our recycling project "Metal for Meals," and the volunteers hit the ground running. In addition the volunteers took on the task of cleaning under our dumpster just one of the tasks that we at the Mission seem to always run out of hours in the day to do. With the help of some of the Lockheed Martin employees we were able to help people dropping off donations unload much faster. For those of you who have seen our donation area parking lot you know it is always lively and we were so thankful for the extra helping hands. Our volunteers did not mind getting dirty in the least, they were willing to help wherever they were needed. A large number of the volunteers worked in the our front, side and back gardens. This was far from an easy task with the size of the area they were clearing out and the seemly never ending amount of weeds. Also a bunch of volunteers help with hanging clothes in our warehouse, this is a wonderful help because now we have tons of clothing ready when we need to restock our racks. With Lockheed Martin's help our store now looks fantastic both inside and out. We are so thankful to all of our volunteers, it truly is because of their help that the Tioga County Open Door Mission has been able to continue serving the community for over 45 years. We are a small hardworking staff but we always need the donation of time from giving hearts. With the help we receive from our volunteer, Mission employees are given those extra few hours in a day to develop new programs that helps the Mission meet the needs of more people in our community, and that is truly what motivates the Mission each and every day it opens its door. Thank you again Lockheed Martin and volunteers everywhere that give the gift of their time. God Bless. |
AuthorsAnna Jantz has had a long time relationship with the Tioga County Open Door Mission, and is passionate about the work that the Mission does. Anna currently works at the Mission as the Community and Internal Programs Manager. Archives
September 2015
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