Sponsor Update & Customer Comments

It’s been a while since we updated the community about the challenges and successes of Stone Soup.  As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Stone Soup has been a large part of Washington County for over 15 years.  With the support of many volunteers, grants, and donations from the community, we have been able to serve a large population of people who had nowhere else to turn to, for the goods they desperately needed. We continue providing vouchers for merchandise at no cost, to families, individuals, missions and community groups, who lack funds to purchase household, furniture, clothing and other items we handle.

During 2010 Stone Soup provided over $108,904 of goods without cost to those in need.  This represented 49% of the store’s inventory.  Last year this trend increased to $147,294 or 57% of the store’s inventory. Included were furniture, dishes, bedding, and many other items.  This served 615 children, 574 adults, and 53 seniors.  Of these 143 persons were homeless.  These services are a bigger part of stone soup’s operation in today’s tough economy.  The generous donation of goods from the community, have kept our shelves, racks, and furniture room full.  Our service of free bread & rolls for customers is very popular.

Volunteers continue to ready and stock the store.  Recycling efforts have been ongoing.  From 2004 through 2011 the unusable goods recycled were: 17,732 lb. bags of clothes and 17,007.5 lbs. of leather and shoes.  During 2011 42 volunteers donated 7,645 hours to help process donated item.  Court ordered community service performed by 90 youth and adults from the community resulted in 2,843.2 hours worked.  (They often return to volunteer after completing ordered service.)  Per the independent sector study, at $21.36 per hour the value of these combined unpaid hours was $150,572.  A growing number of households with limited or fixed incomes shop at Stone Soup.  While enjoying the fine quality of products purchased, it helped them stretch their budget.  Every month over 1,700 shoppers come to purchase basic needs at affordable prices.  Sales for 2011 were $111,825.40, with free goods now exceeding 2010 and previous year sales. 

"I wish to express my appreciation to Stone Soup Thrift Shop.  I am one of the working poor as I've heard my demographic segment described by the media.  I work full time, but I am still low income.  My husband of many years only occasionally works a steady job, but he is an excellent father to our two children.  When our children were growing up, he stayed home with them and taught them many handy skills, like repairing old things and building new things.  My daughter can do carpentry, and my son can weld and fix cars.

I am proud to say we do not accept public assistance, and never have.  The home we own is small, and in a neighborhood of questionable value, but we were able to purchase this home, and eventually pay it off.  My husband and we were able to raise our children in their own home, let them have a dog, and let them play with that dog in their own backyard.  Giving my children a proper home like this was very important to me, but I could do it only by cutting back on expenses.

By shopping at Stone Soup Thrift Shop, we've furnished our home, clothed our family and saved money, saved natural resources, and helped preserved the environment.  Over the years we've always been able to make our mortgage payment and keep our house.  We were always able to provide our children with some of life's niceties.  If it hadn't been for Stone Soup, we don't know how we would have done it.  I don't have the records to show the thousands of dollars we've saved over the years by purchasing used goods at Stone Soup, but today when so many families' homes are in foreclosure, they need Stone Soup Thrift Shop more than ever to help them save money.

Stone Soup is the only thrift shop in Cottage Grove/St. Paul Park area.  We have shopped at Stone Thrift Shop regularly for years.  The shop has always been a pleasant place to come to.  The store is clean and orderly.  Most times we come to Stone Soup we notice things are clean and sorted, and rearranged differently to fit the assortment of goods at the time.  The people who work at Stone Soup are friendly and helpful, to both me, and each other.  We can tell they really care about making things better.

Believe me; Stone Soup thrift shop does much to make things better, in its own small part of the world way.  Stone Soup allows families to save money.  Stone Soup provides a collection and distribution center for reusable goods, preventing wasteful use of resources and energy, and helping to preserve our environment.  Let's keep Stone Soup Thrift Shop going.
Thank you, Stone Soup people!"

We want Stone Soup to be here for families and individuals to assure they can stretch their budgets like the family that wrote this letter to us.  While Stone Soup’s sales meet a portion of our expenses, we must raise funds and seek grants for the remainder.  Our goal for fundraising is to insure Stone Soup remains financially strong, and able to continue serving the need for good quality, gently used clothing, furniture, and household items for community members.  Many people think our store space is rent-free.  It is not.  We receive no county, state, or federal funding.  Space costs represents close to over 27% of our budget.  Staffing represents 48% of our budget of four full time staff and three very part time personnel.

Majel Carroll
Board President
Basic Needs Inc. of South Washington County
d/b/a Stone Soup Thrift Shop

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