The staff, faculty, and students from the Ross Education Medical Center campus in Midland, Michigan recently volunteered their time at The Red Door Thrift Store in Midland. While there, the volunteering activities ranged from organizing clothing by size and item, to steaming and ironing clothing, to sorting newly arrived items to be priced. Everyone that volunteered from Ross was thrilled to do so, enjoying the opportunity to support this important local organization.
The sole purpose of the The Red Door Thrift Store is to support Clare County’s only homeless shelter, Joshua’s House Maternity Home. This shelter operates specifically for women who are pregnant and homeless. Joshua’s House cares for women from every county in the state of Michigan, giving first preference to those residing in Clare County. Although Clare County is approximately 30 miles from the Midland campus, the local area is still impacted by what they do.
Eventually, the goal of Joshua’s House Maternity Home is to operate six maternity home shelters throughout the state of Michigan. Each shelter location would ideally have two thrift stores to assist in supporting that local shelter. Unfortunately, The Red Door Thrift Store in Midland had to close their doors at the end of January 2018 due to unforeseen economic climate conditions. So, in early January 2018, the Ross student volunteer efforts switched from preparing items for display and purchase, to disassembling and packing items to be delivered to another Red Door location.
While the Ross volunteer students were packing totes and wrapping glassware in newspaper, they shared stories of how proud they were to be part of The Red Door Thrift Store and know that their efforts partnered with such a meaningful local shelter. Sherry Combs, Board Member of The Red Door Thrift Store and Renee Jeffords, Executive Director of The Red Door Thrift Store, commented several times, “what a blessing and help it has been to have Ross students volunteer at The Red Door Thrift Store in Midland.” Sherry Combs went on to say, “to listen to the student’s educational and real life experiences has been enlightening.”