News & Events

- 05/12/08 - Sponsor Update & Thank You
- 05/09/08 - Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser a Success
- 03/29/08 - Pancake Breakfast

 

May 12, 2008

Sponsor Update & Thank You

It's been a year since we updated the community about the challenges and successes of Stone Soup. When Stone Soup Thrift Shop closed in January of 2005, it was a great loss to the community. The spirit of our mission was so compelling we could not bear to see the store just go away. With the help of the board and the community we looked for a new home. After a year, we found it, in St. Paul Park, and re-open January of 2006. As we completed the second year, our customer base, sales, and services have grown.

The generous donation of goods from the community has kept our shelves, racks, and furniture room full. Our new daily service of free bread & rolls for customers is very popular. We are still 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. Last year, this totaled $30,334 and served 413 adults and 385 children.

Volunteers continue to ready and stock the store. Recycling efforts have been ongoing. From 2004 through 2007 the unusable good recycled were: 8,333 bags of clothes and 3,133 lbs of shoes. Last year, 75 volunteers donated 5,674.5 hours of time to help process donated item. Court ordered community service performed by 104 youth and adults from the community resulted in 2,992.5 hours worked. (They often return to volunteer after completing ordered service.) At $6.15 per hour the value of this unpaid time was $53,203.

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. Sales for 2007 were $94,337, and exceeded 2006 sales.

The following are comments were sent to us in a letter from a long time customer.

"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.

We so severely had to cut back expenses that in the summer we didn't buy groceries. Instead we lived off of what we fished for, had hunted the previous fall, and grew in our garden. Now the people at Stone Soup Thrift Shop give bread and pastries away daily. What a wonderful treat for families like mine!

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. With expected expenses of almost $153,000 ($12,740 monthly) and average monthly sales of near $9,000, we work continually to meet expenses. Many people think our store space is rent-free. It is not. Space costs represent close to 1/3 of our budget. Staffing represents another third. (We have two full time staff and four very part time personnel). The following describes an event that helped us reach toward our financial goals. We hope to have other events of this type.

The board of Basic Needs Inc. invites you to visit Stone Soup, to see the results of your support and to have a fun time shopping. There is something new everyday, with great variety. Volunteers are wanted and welcomed…..and they do have a good time. Again, my thanks to you all for your fine support. We look forward to seeing you visiting Stone Soup.

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

 

May 9, 2008

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser a Success

 

On March 29th, Stone Soup had their first pancake breakfast fundraiser at Applebee's of Cottage Grove. It was a crowd-pleaser! Folks in attendence enjoyed delicious food prepared by Applebee's staff and served by our board members, volunteers, and Stnoe Soup staff Plus, many fabulous prizes were auctioned off to very happy winners.

We would like to say a well-deserved "thank you" to the business community, residents, board members, staff, and volunteers who helped make this fundraiser a great success. Without you we wouldn't have been able to pull it off! Thrivent for Lutherans is providing a match for the funds raised. This will help us toward building a better bottom line in serving our community.

The following sponsors and individual contributors are responsible for donating their valuable energy, time and over $2,000 in prizes. Again, thank you for helping us with this successful event!

• Applebee's Cottage Grove
• 3M
• Sue Abrahamson
• American Motor Sports Bar & Gril
• Anchor Bank
• Bailey Nursery
• Broadway Bar and Grill
• Ray & Jason Brooks
• B. Woods Web Design
• Doug Carroll
• South Washington County TV
• Carbone's Pizza - St. Paul Park
• Carol Turenne
• Myron Bailey
• Cottage Grove Barbers
• Bob Branchaud
• Cottage Grove Florist
• Country Inn and Suites Cottage Grove
• Cub Foods Cottage Grove
• Curves for Women Cottage Grove
• Edina Realty Cottage Grove
• Great Clips Cottage Grove
• Kris Heywood
• Hanson's Auto
• Images by Design Inver Grove
• Jack Lavold
• Jimmy John's Cottage Grove
• Mainstreet Bank Newport
• Marathon Petroleum
• Jennifer & Jim Marshik
• Merchant's Bank Cottage Grove
• Becky & Amber Monson
• Heidi Muller
• Mary & Vied Muiznieks
• Oasis Chiropractic
• Park Café St. Paul Park
• Perkins Cottage Grove
• Kim Perry
• Rainbow Foods Cottage Grove
• Roger Peterson
• Mary Paulsen
• St Paul Park/Newport Lions Club
• Brandon Sandvig
• Washington County Senior Center
• Shamrock Liquor Cottage Grove
• Jennifer Schottmuller
• Tony Schommer
• "Sprinkles", the Clown
• Bill Sumner
• Sven Sundgaard - Kare-11 TV
• Target Cottage Grove
• The Bulletin - Jeff Patterson & Toni Lambert
• Tires Plus Cottage Grove
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
• Von Hanson's Meats
• Emily White
• Judy Woods
• Xcel Energy

Stop by visit us at Stone Soup Thift Shop any time during business hours to see the results of your support (and of course, shop for great merchandise!). We have something new in store every day. You'll save money, and take home something you love.

 

March 29, 2008

Pancake Breakfast

Location: Applebee's
                8380 E Point Douglas Rd S.
                Cottage Grove - Map/Directions
Cost: $5.00 per ticket
Time: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
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Attend the fundraising event that benefits Basic Needs, Inc./Stone Soup, to keep providing these great community services and the community store.

Your ticket to this event includes a wonderful breakfast of Pancakes, eggs, bacon, milk, coffee or pop. Drawings will be held for some neat prizes.

Everyone is welcome, so bring your appetite and your checkbook, and prepare for great food & fun! Have breakfast with KARE-11 meteorologist, Sven Sundgaard! Applebee's staff will prepare the food, and Stone Soup's Board and Volunteers will be taking your orders and serving your meal.

Winners do not need to be present. Prizes can be picked up at the store.

Tickets may be purchased ahead of time. For advance tickets, please call the store at 651-458-9786.

 

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