I’m wearing
everything from a thrift store. Even my
shoes. Why would I tell you this? I’m here to tell you about the deep doctrine
of DI. DI is more than a thrift store
and yes, that probably has been a tag line or in a commercial, but it’s
true. DI is self sufficient and runs
only on donations. There are 43 DI
stores in 7 western states: WA, OR, CA, ID, UT, NV and AZ.
2 things are
unique about our DI here in Twin. We
employ the largest amount of refuges except for the ones in Utah than all the
others. Twin DI is not self supporting
which means we have to do “donation sharing.”
We get things from the humanitarian center in SLC. So, lesson one- bring in your stuff!
Twin DI has community partnerships with about
30 programs/ agencies in Magic Valley. One of those places is TF School
district. For example. My friend who is a single mom with 5 kids and has
1 daughter. Her teacher noticed that she
had only 2 pairs of pants. One day she came home
with 3 pairs of pants. Where did her
teacher get them? DI.
The bishops
can use DI to help families in need. For
instance, take my friend Cyndy who is a manager of low income housing. One family, not LDS, had a fire in their
dryer. ALL the kids’ clothes were burned
up. ALL of them. ALL that was left for the kids was what they were
wearing. Cyndy went to the Bishop, told
him the situation and he wrote out a voucher for 200 dollars worth of clothes
for the family. The bishop is the bishop
for everyone within the ward boundaries- even those not of our faith.
Another
bishop wanted to help a man here with a ½ way house he was starting. He got the man vouchers for 15 beds for this
house. These are not old
mattresses. The church has a factory in
SLC that makes them. All mattress
companies send their merchandise to Missouri to be tested with a
gigantic roller. LDS mattresses are with
the same quality and caliber for companies like Serta! Seriously!
And for 2/3 of the price!!!!
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This is an example of the actual furniture!
The church
also has a furniture factory that makes solid wood NICE quality tables, chairs,
and bed sets and frames. You can see
them in the store and ask for one. They
are in the back- ready to be bought!
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DI also
squashes bundles of clothes into ½ a ton barrels and sells them to other companies or it goes to the humanitarian center for the 3rd world
countries we send aid to. We give stuff
to Catholic charities and let them put their name on it, not ours.
DI, pays for
the employee’s salary, the building, the lighting, etc. But when there is extra money it goes to help
others get jobs. We help members as
well as non-members. 48% now at DI in Twin Falls are not of our faith. The extra money goes to help those workers go
to school and get jobs.
Our own
Merna was employed at DI and needed to call her Bishop. She was not a member (yet!). Everyone that works there needs to get a hold
of their bishop and get his help with goals and what that person wants to
accomplish. One of the people that have
worked at DI walked across the Sahara desert, then floated on something in the
ocean till he was picked up and brought to America. He was escaping a war torn land. He worked here in Twin Falls. He told a manager that he would rather face
the desert than the ocean! (not to self)
Here are few
stories to help you understand what this DI, this “more than a thrift store can
do.” Take Wes. He’s a excellent swimmer, so much so that he
is in the junior Olympics’ and goes to Paris to compete for the USA. He has offers from colleges for full ride
scholarships, but Wes, gets into drugs.
It becomes so bad that his family tells him to not come around. He cannot see his nieces and nephews and Wes
gets in trouble with the law and finds himself in prison. Part of Prison is
drug rehab and before he can even leave, he has to have a job! It’s pretty hard to find a job when you’re in
jail! But his bishop comes to visit him
and gets him a job with DI. He can
leave. Part of the DI program is for
each person to have a mentor. The bishop
feels inspirited to have a man his age but married with kids be his
mentor. His mentor, not knowing what to
do at first, invites him over for dinner, for barbecues and becomes his friend. Wes needs new friends, he can’t go back to
his old friends or he’ll get back into drugs.
Wes now has a friend, and a job.
DI has strict rules. You have to
show up on time and be there 96% of the time.
Absolutely no cell phones on the job.
These are rules that most companies have and that for most of the
employees need to learn. Each employee
goes through reviews. Goals are set by
the employee and he/she evaluates himself on how he is doing. Goals can be get a driver’s license, get a
GED, become A CNA. They pay for training
programs nearby colleges have. Wes now
has a good job with a good company and he is successful. That is why DI is more than a thrift
store. The money only goes to do
good. The money goes to help the poor
and needy.
Another
story: Mari Smith and her husband have
triplets, her husband is a contractor building million dollar homes and then
the economy goes bad and they can’t even pay their own rent. The husband is depressed. He finally went to the bishop, who sent him
to the stake president (both to see if they knew of anything one or anything
that could help him get work) He goes
back to his bishop and he gives his a recommendation to DI. He gets him a job at DI. Can you imagine the humility it took to go
from building million dollar homes to working at DI? DI can see this man has potential and
skills. To reestablish himself, the
bishop needs to know exactly what he wants to do. He decides he wants to become a Nursing
assistant. DI splits the cost with him
for the schooling and now he is standing next to heart surgeons holding the
heart, because he became an orderly first.
This man when he was working at DI had a friend there named Bill. Bill had become homeless and this man went
and found him and got him back on at DI and made sure Bill was OK!
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| behind the scenes with the donations. |
One person
Crystal from Peru doesn't speak much English.
Her job coach sees more in her, treats her with respect, helps her get
in English classes, which in some areas DI offers. Helped her get a GED and then she become a
CNA. The more resources the better you
can help a person.
Another
sister who says about herself she had no friends in HS and was not very smart so she dropped out. She gets a job at DI and blossoms and 2 years later she is training those
that are new at DI.
Carlos had a
pharmacy for 28 years in his country. He
comes to the USA and all he can do is clean the floors in Rite Aid. He thinks he can get a job as a driver. He goes to the bishop and the bishop sees
that he is more than a day laborer and helps him get a job at DI who then pays
for him to go to become a pharmacy tech.
DI pays his wages for 3 months.
The pharmacy hires him on, because his people skills are awesome. Everyone knows him and loves him. This leads him to his wife getting a job
there too, and then his daughter goes through the program and becomes a CNA. They all testify to there being a
light in their lives now. They have
someone who cares.
Community
partnerships that will help families with rent, food, clothes and shoes, also
helps with self-esteem. Giving them a
gift card is no guarantee that they will get what they need. Taking them there, helping these children
pick out their first coat, their first pillow, their own blanket. When money is low for those community
agencies, Di will raise their grants.
There are no
DI thrift stores outside of those 7 states I mentioned, but the program is
everywhere. There are offices, (23 I
think) in places like Texas, NY, Mexico, and the
Philippines that do the same thing- help pay and train and work with people
that need help. It all works through the bishops! The miracles can happen
anywhere!
DI is more
than a thrift store because it transforms people’s lives. The savior was always encouraging, helping
and serving the individual. That is what
DI does. You bring in old things and
they become new to someone else. DI does
that with clothes and people as well!
How is this
all done? How it all is paid for? From the sales of those donations! When we donate we are helping in more than
one way. We are helping many, many
people’s lives to change for the better.
“Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
“And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.” (
Alma 37:6–7 The Book of Mormon)
