elm Gives Back

elm recently had the opportunity to volunteer with a local organization, Minnie’s Food Pantry located in Plano, Texas. Minnie’s Food Pantry is a charity that provides healthy, nutritious food and the red carpet treatment to every person that they serve in the community. In the few hours we were there, Minnie’s was able to feed 51 families!

Our team was assigned the task of organizing the makeup and toiletries for Minnie’s Resale Boutique, which is located in the same strip center as the Food Pantry. The boutique sells clothing, current electronics, decorative Accessories, furniture, Books/DVDs, household items, personal accessories (belts, jewelry, handbags/purses) and shoes. We learned that proceeds from the boutique directly support Minnie’s Food Pantry and allows them to distribute 3 meals for every $1 that they sell. There were pallets and pallets worth of brand new items such as lip gloss, mascara, blush, bronzer, primer, foundation, eye liner, eyelashes, etc. These were all generously donated by major retailers. Our job was to ensure the quality was in tact, mark the barcode off each item and distribute them into the appropriate bins for organization. Once sorted, these items were ready to sell in the boutique for a fraction of what they would cost in the store.Minnie’s Food Pantry serves a vital role in providing food to children and families in our community, and by donating gently used/new items or purchasing from the boutique, they are allowed to continue their mission of providing healthy meals and resources to families in need. The elm girls ended up buying back a lot of the makeup we sorted with the excuse it was for a good cause!

We had such a good time working together and learning more about this organization that we committed to volunteering with them several times a year. We plan to gather the team together quarterly to spend the day helping however we can. We look forward to the opportunity to work in the different departments so we have an even broader knowledge of what all they have to offer.

If you are interested in donating to Minnie’s Food Pantry/Boutique or by volunteering with this amazing organization, feel free to contact us for more information about our experience. We will continue to provide updates on all of our “elm Gives Back” endeavors, so stay posted! Take the time to volunteer in your community, you won’t regret it!