Making A Difference: Featured Nonprofit Partners

Adopt America Network
Toledo, Ohio
Posted March 2008

Arizona Doulas Organization & Birth Education Association, Inc.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Posted April 2007

First National Baptist Church's "Helping Thy Neighbor" Program
Washington, D.C.
Posted March 2007

H.O.P.E. America, Inc.
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Posted April 2007

Idaho PTA
Boise, Idaho
Posted May 2007

Living Word Metro Ministries
Dayton, Ohio
Posted July 2007

Prison to Peace Outreach
Pasadena, Cal.
Posted June 2007

Providers' Resource Clearinghouse
Denver, Colorado
Posted July 2007

National statistics for those aging out of our foster care system are alarming:

· 40 percent do not graduate from high school and only 3 percent attend college,

· 56 percent are unemployed and face poverty within two to four years,

· 60 percent of the females have a baby within two years,

· 25 percent are incarcerated within 2 years and

· They constitute 88 percent of today's jailed youth and young adults and 70 percent of today's homeless youth.

A national nonprofit organization, based in Toledo, Ohio, is working to give children who end up in foster care through no fault of their own, a chance to get out--through adoption. Adopt America Network (AAN) specializes in successfully finding children with special needs a family to care for them and a permanent place to call home.

"Our goal is to heal the hearts of these children by helping to find them loving parents who will keep the children safe, nurtured and protected -- just what every child deserves," said AAN's Director of Development, Sandra Migani Wall. "Thousand of kids across the country are waiting, waiting, waiting to belong to a loving family. The children's stories are heart-wrenching."

Wall said AAN specializes in helping children in the foster care system who have special needs. They are victims of abuse or extreme neglect; have physical, mental, or emotional challenges; have siblings, or are of school age.

"The longer these children are in the system, the more emotional and behavioral issues they typically have, making it more difficult to find families for them. Most have been with several families and several schools. The multiple moves cause them to be behind in their education and have problems making meaningful connections with others."

"Kids who are not adopted and 'age out' of the foster care system are challenged to stay on track," said Wall. "Imagine yourself at age 18, being thrown out on the streets and completely on your own. How are you going to support yourself? Where are you going to live? When these children come out they have no support of any kind as they try to build a future. They suffer."

"All of society suffers. By not helping these children find loving parents and realize their full potential, each of us contributes to a wasted life that requires extensive social services that we end up paying anyway. If all of us helped these children find good, permanent homes we could transform not only their lives, but their children's lives and our communities for generations to come."

Technology Helps to Make Connections
Adopt America Network aims to find children homes long before they "age out" or spend several years in the system. AAN uses its electronic family and child database program--called EZMatch©--to help connect children with families. The program matches a family's capability to parent children on more than 60 different challenges (e.g. age, medical, emotional) with the special needs of the children.

Once the children and families are registered in the program and initial matches are identified, Adoption Specialists serve as guides to help families navigate the complex foster care system. Social workers assist the families in their communications with children's case workers to determine the best placement for the children. Support staff facilitates the process by making sure that all of the extensive paperwork is in order.

"We use all of our resources to break down geographic and bureaucratic barriers in order to place more kids with loving families--families who help these children heal and who nurture them to become productive members of their community. Everyone benefits from these efforts," said Wall.

AAN's disruption rate (percentage of adoptive placements that do not work out) is 6-7 percent annually, compared to the national rate of 10-20 percent. This is exceptional, considering the organization focuses on the hardest-to-place children with the most challenges. Wall attributes this success to the fact that AAN can better match families with children on a significantly larger number of challenges through EZMatch© and AAN's intensive, hands-on family case management model.

Providing Support to Adopting Families
AAN provides a comprehensive range of services for families who adopt children, including pre-adoption training and access to adoption specialists in their area who can provide advice and guidance as they go through the transition of bringing a child into their family.

"We joined Gifts In Kind about six years ago as a way to help support the wonderful families who are adopting these children and providing the love and support they desperately need," explained Wall. "Many of the families live quite frugally so that they can open their doors to these children. The products we get from Gifts In Kind go to them."

AAN has partnered with local Office Depot, Pottery Barn, and Talbot's stores. Wall said several times each year they invite local families to visit the AAN office to choose school supplies and clothes for the kids or items for home. She said office supplies have allowed AAN to reduce expenses and put more funds into placing more children.

"It's exciting for AAN to be able to support these families because the difference they make in the lives of these children is inspiring. We've seen children who have been diagnosed and labeled as having extreme deficits, make amazing physical, emotional, and educational advances when the children have the attention, love, security and support they need. "

Last year the program served 18,000 meals/snacks per week during its six-week summer program. As a result, the program was named the "best in the state" by the Children's Hunger Alliance.

The nonprofit is partnered with Bed Bath & Beyond, Talbots and the Disney Store through Gifts In Kind International's Retail Donation Partner program.

"We use the products from the Gifts In Kind International program in every area of our ministry, especially the toys. Every Kid's Club plays games. On average we need 320 prizes weekly to run our after school program," said Randall. "We love our relationship with Gifts In Kind and our service representative, Ruthann Pippenger."

Randall said the products they receive through Gifts In Kind are crucial to the program's annual Back 2 School Bash, which provides new book bags filled with school supplies to kids in need. She said the Leap Frog toys they receive have become quite popular with the children and the parents, providing a learning tool for both.

This year the Kid's Club staff will prepare 3,000 book bags for distribution. In addition to those bags, volunteers will help put together "Mother Bags", which are drawn randomly for a few lucky families.

"Lots of moms come with their kids so we came up with this as a way to make them feel welcome and appreciated," said Randall.

She said the staff is grateful to receive a wide range of bedding products for the families.

"More children than you realize have no beds to sleep in and are sleeping on beds that I've never had a dog sleep on. I've been in their homes and I've seen them for myself. These donations go home with these families and become the only bed these kids have ever had. They are so grateful to receive these household items and you can see it on their faces when their name is called in the drawing!"

Prison to Peace Outreach, Inc.
Posted June 2007
When Pastor Dorothy Woods founded Prison to Peace Outreach, Inc. (PTP) in 1986 in Pasadena, Calif., the nonprofit's mission was to help nurture the relationship between prison inmates and their families. Having served four years in prison for welfare fraud, Woods understood the challenges that faced families with loved ones in prison and wanted to help others nurture and preserve that important bond.

Woods' experience in prison encouraged her to make a change in her life. "Rather than complaining about what I didn't have, I wanted to help other people," she said.

She has far exceeded the goal she set for herself at that time. More than 20 years later, the Prison to Peace Outreach organization has grown substantially under her direction and has changed its mission to help all people in need in the Inland Empire region of California.

"We now serve about 2,000 people each week, and most of them are low-income families who are working but need a little extra help to make it to the next paycheck," said Woods, adding that PTP serves a fair number of people who are homeless or on welfare as well.

Providing food is just one of the wide range of services that PTP provides to the community. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday families throughout the area pick up about 600 bags of groceries from the PTP warehouse—bags that provide enough food for a family of four to eat for three days.

"We do this because so many children in the Inland Empire go hungry every night and we're determined to rectify that by giving out food," said Woods. The brownbag program, however, is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what PTP offers to the community.

A Safe Haven for Young People
The nonprofit's Friday Night Live program provides a safe place for teens to go on Friday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. The first hour is devoted to classes that focus on AIDS awareness, pregnancy prevention, literacy, computers and music. During the last two hours kids are able to socialize, play games and eat a meal at the PTP center.

"We provide a safe place for these young people to hang out with their friends," said Woods. "And we also provide an outlet by assigning a counselor to each young person in the program. It allows them to discuss issues that they may feel uncomfortable bringing up with their parents."

Utilizing Gifts In Kind
PTP provides a wide range of other services to local families, including the donation of much-needed products.

"We don't want these families to have to choose between feeding their families and paying the light bill," said Woods. Through Gifts In Kind, PTP helps to meet the basic needs of the community by providing items such as personal care products, clothing, school materials for children, household supplies and much more. The organization joined Gifts In Kind International's Retail Donation Partner program and is currently matched with local Office Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond stores.

Donated products are integral to the group's Employment Preparedness Program and several special events that are offered throughout the year to lift families up. Woods said the annual Mother's Day luncheon—which is held at a local golf club and provides some nice gifts to mothers—is very popular with the community.

"This event is really special because it brings the community together, celebrates family and allows these members of our community to feel good about themselves," said Woods.

Other special events offered during the year celebrate Father's Day, the Fourth of July and the holiday season.

Woods said she believes the success of the program comes from the way each individual is treated. "We treat them with respect and work to keep them upbeat and motivated. The goal is to give them a hand up, not a handout. "

Providers' Resource Clearinghouse
Posted July 2007

A Gifts In Kind® program based in Colorado has added vocational training to its long list of services that are provided to the community. Providers' Resource Clearinghouse (PRC) is a longtime Gifts In Kind member agency that serves about 150 local nonprofits and many people in need in the Denver area.

PRC Executive Director Heather Dolan said the organization began the training program about two years ago to help meet another need in the community.

"It allows us to achieve two goals through the Gifts In Kind® program--to place urgently needed product donations with the local nonprofits that are serving the community and also to train people in need to help them meet their maximum potential," she said.

Dolan said more than 100 people have been trained through the program.

"This program also allows us to make the most use of the items that are donated," said Dolan. A recent donation of used sewing machines has enabled the PRC staff to teach trainees how to sew. This adds flexibility to the PRC program by allowing staff and trainees to repair donated items, or even to create new items that meet a particular need, she added.

"Sometimes we get more drapes than we need, so our trainees have learned how to turn a drape into a backpack--one of the most requested items we get--for low-income kids who are getting ready to go to school," she explained. This also enables the PRC staff to teach another skill to our trainees, Dolan said.

"The concept of reuse is also in line with the environmental commitment we made when we founded this organization," Dolan added.

PRC partners with a wide range of local retailers through Gifts In Kind International's Retail Donation Partner program, including Guess, Talbots, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Disney.

"We are on the road about three days a week picking up our RDP items and transferring them into our warehouse," said Dolan.

PRC nonprofit members get donations through the program in a variety of ways--some set up a monthly schedule and others stop by on an as-needed basis. Those who come in each month are allowed to choose 3-5 boxes of office supplies and personal care items and 3-6 boxes of household/kitchen items.

In addition to serving the nonprofit organizations in the community, PRC offers its Partners In Sharing program to help local people in need. Nonprofit PRC partners can refer clients directly to PRC when they are not able to provide direct help.

"We bring these people into our facility and allow them choose the items they need," said Dolan.

PRC works with a wide range of local businesses to get donations, in addition to the Gifts In Kind International products. "We use our partnership with Gifts In Kind International as a starting point for a lot of the local businesses we approach," she said. "Once we demonstrate our track record in managing the products we get from the Gifts In Kind® program, businesses are more likely to consider a donation."

"It's a real pleasure for us to work with Gifts In Kind International," said Dolan. "It's great for our community and it's nice to see that the have-nots are finally getting what they need thanks to this program."

Sisters On A Mission
Posted March 2007
Sisters On A Mission, a support group for African American women with breast cancer, joined Gifts In Kind International last summer. The group promotes breast cancer awareness throughout Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

" We really provide help to all women in the community who need help," said Founder and President Cynthia Church, a 16-year breast cancer survivor. "You never know when you're going to find yourself facing the challenge of being diagnosed with cancer."

Church said the group provides support to low-income women so that they can focus on their health issues. Program volunteers help women who are diagnosed with breast cancer make decisions about their treatment.

"We can't pay for their treatment, but we can help out in other ways so that they can save their money to pay the medical bills," said Church.

Sisters On A Mission helps in a variety of ways, including donating needed products to women's shelters and senior centers. The group has partnered with five retailers through Gifts In Kind International's Retail Donation Partner Program including Bed Bath & Beyond, Talbots, Office Depot, Pottery Barn Kids and Disney.

"We have received coats, clothing, makeup, towels and many other items to get these women through the tough times, and to help get them on their feet."

The donated products have allowed women to provide for their children while they are undergoing treatment, supported grandmothers who are looking after their grandchildren and provided toys for needy children.

"We have received a great deal of appreciation from the women we have helped," said Church. "The Gifts In Kind program allows us to continue that support."


Tiftarea Foster Care and Adoption, Inc.
Posted June 2007
A new product donation program is providing a restful night's sleep to children in need, the homeless and many others around the country. Tempur-Pedic, Inc.® last month began donating mattresses through Gifts In Kind International to foster homes, shelters and a wide variety of other nonprofit organizations that provide services to people in need. The high-quality, refurbished mattresses—which come in twin, full, queen and king sizes—are already receiving rave reviews from the nonprofits that have received them.

"These mattresses have truly been a blessing to our foster system," said Carlos B. Graham, director of the Tiftarea Foster Care and Adoption, Inc. in Tifton, Ga. The organization was founded a few years ago to support foster and adopted children in the Tifton area.

Graham said the coalition donated 78 mattresses to local foster and adopted children. "The kids were quite happy to receive these mattresses," said Graham. "I think they were surprised at the level of comfort provided by them—the quality is quite good. The foster parents who received these generous donations could not say thank you enough."

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) in Denver—a nonprofit that works to prevent homelessness and create lasting solutions for homeless and at-risk families, children, and individuals throughout Colorado—received a truckload of the Tempur-Pedic® mattresses in May.

"We are using them to assist families as they move into our transitional living programs," said Stanley Eilert, CCH vice president of operations. "Giving these folks a decent place to sleep is really important—it allows them to start their lives and enter the working world on the right foot."

The High Plains Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. (High Plains RC&D)—a Gifts In Kind member that helps communities in the Texas Panhandle cope with their local natural resource and community challenges—received mattresses earlier this month.

" We've already distributed them to seven nonprofit groups in our area," said Thomas Reed, the RC&D coordinator. "These mattresses are helping children in need, parents and families who are dealing with disabilities and illness and many others in our area."

Reed said one of the organizations that received mattresses through the High Plains RC&D was the New Mexico Christian Children's Home (NMCCH) in Portales, N.M.

"Thank you for thinking of the Christian Children's Home and allowing us to receive the Tempur-Pedic® mattresses," said NMCCH Public Relations Director C.K. Holt. "Many of us got a really good night's sleep last night because of your kindness."

Maria Garcia, executive director of Uniting Parents in Amarillo, Texas, also received mattresses through High Plains RC&D and has placed several of them with families that are dealing with severe medical disabilities. Garcia said the families were "very glad to receive these mattresses. Some of them had been sleeping on the floor."

Interested in receiving high-quality Tempur-Pedic® mattresses? Contact your personal member services consultant today for an application and shipping quote.


United Way of the Virginia Peninsula's Galaxy of Gifts program

When are curtains just curtains? Never, according to Susie Culp, program coordinator of the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula's Galaxy of Gifts program. The program serves local nonprofit charitable organizations by providing product donations to the Hampton, Va. area.

The local United Way chapter serves approximately 400 nonprofits in the Virginia Peninsula area. To help meet the needs of the community, the program partnered with local Bed Bath & Beyond, Guess, and Office Depot stores through Gifts In Kind's Retail Donation Partner program. The program allows them to pick up donations throughout the year. Culp said the program has been 'phenomenal' for them.

She says the donations they have received have allowed them to fill book bags donated by Office Depot with pencils, paper and other items before the school year began so local children from low-income families wouldn't have to take their supplies to school in a paper bag.

Bed Bath & Beyond has also contributed featherbeds that the program uses in local shelters so the homeless don't have to sleep on the floor. "The king-size mattress pads are large enough for a mother and child or husband and wife," says Culp.

Creative Uses Leave Nothing to Waste
Occasionally, the program receives items that require them to put their creative talents to use. Culp says it all started early in 2007 when a young woman came into the The Arc of the Virginia Peninsula's workshop--a community-based organization for people with developmental disabilities--and found a single panel of drapes. The woman asked how she could use a single curtain panel. An Arc volunteer was immediately inspired to show just what could become of the drapes.

The volunteer took the drapes, made of beautiful material, and returned several days later with a doll clothed in a one-of-a-kind dress. Since then, the innovative idea has spread to about 40 nonprofit agencies across the Virginia Peninsula. "It is amazing to see the children's faces when they receive such an exquisite gift. The feeling that comes from this can never be explained in words," says Culp. Countless dolls have been distributed in the local area.

Culp explains, "Some of our charities go to yard sales during the year and pick up dolls that are being sold for around one or two dollars. They take them home, clean them up and then make clothes for them out of the curtains, drapes and various linens we receive through our Bed Bath and Beyond donation program...it is truly a wonderful way to make use of the donations we receive. A lot of little girls receive some wonderful dolls for Christmas and other times throughout the year and the charities have enough money left over...to buy more gifts for the children if they need to.”

The creativity does not end here. The Hampton-area Arc holds a fashion show each spring that draws a crowd from the community. Approximately 20 Arc clients participate wearing clothing made from donated linens from Bed Bath & Beyond and apparel received from local Talbots and Guess stores. The Arc also holds a craft session once a year that utilizes donated linens so clients can make their parents presents for Christmas.

Some of the donated linens have also been used to make handbags, pillow covers, beanbags, scarves and aprons. Culp adds, ”Just about every item made of cloth has been made by our consumers from all of the material we have obtained from Bed Bath and Beyond…We are so proud of our consumers for everything they do! “

The Arc volunteers teach the disabled how to make crafts, help in the Arc’s warehouse, and assist charities that come into the warehouse. The volunteers also help the Arc participants keep the computers in the recycling program in order. "Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to do all of the wonderful things we do in our community," says Culp.

Would you like to share ways you have helped your community with donations you have received through Gifts In Kind? Contact Melissa Trumpower to share your success story.

Walt Disney Magnet School PTA
Posted January 2008

The Walt Disney Magnet School's Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in Chicago is not only setting an example of giving, it gets their students involved in the process.

"We are trying to teach our kids to give back," said Mark Gruntzel, president of the PTA and community resource director for the Walt Disney Magnet School, a Chicago City public school. "We have been so fortunate here at the school and now we want to teach them how to turn that around to help others."

A great example is the Holiday Tree program, through which students learn first-hand about giving. Classrooms work together to decorate holiday trees, which are then donated to families who can't afford a tree. Gruntzel said students' eyes are often opened by this activity. "It is hard for students to understand that some people don't have a tree or get presents for Christmas," he explained.

The PTA also hosts furniture drives for a program that sets up apartments for women and children escaping domestic abuse. These drives have been very successful thanks to participation from parents and students.

"Kids don't always show that they understand the concept of philanthropy, but we see it when we ask for donations," said Gruntzel.

The Disney PTA regularly hosts literacy nights that encourage preschool-aged students to start reading. The literacy nights often include appearances by authors and giveaways of books or magazines. The Disney PTA has received a variety of products through Gifts In Kind to help with this program.

"We hope that the kids will take the books we give them and start to build libraries at home," said Gruntzel.

The Disney PTA has been a member of Gifts In Kind International for about a year. They are currently partnered with Office Depot and the Disney Store through the RDP program and receive other products periodically to support all of their programs. Gruntzel says that the partnership is working out well for the PTA.

"It is nice to have an organization that is doing this for nonprofits," said Gruntzel. "We often approach companies for donations and it can be difficult, especially with large corporations, to navigate policies or find the right people for donations. Gifts In Kind takes the leg work out of it for us."

The Disney PTA has more than 200 registered members and welcomes the participation of all teachers or parents of students. The Walt Disney Magnet School is a part of the Chicago public school system. The school uses art-integrated instruction to spark the minds of its 1,600 students. Students come from all over the city of Chicago with 75-80 percent receiving free or reduced lunch. The school admissions are based on proximity and a multicultural lottery that has more than 4,000 applicants per year for about 400 spots.