Another Month of Caring - October 2024

Current Donation Hours - Mon-Sat, 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM

New hours will remain until further notice.

Hello Caring Friends,

With fall officially upon us, October brings new opportunities to connect and give back. As we prepare for the busy season ahead. I'm excited to share some wonderful events happening at The Caring Place this month.

A Halloween BOGO sale is right around the corner! Whether you're looking for costumes, decorations, or just some spooky fun, this is the perfect time to shop and support a good cause. Every purchase directly helps us continue to provide essential services to our neighbors in need. You will be able to find this sale at both The Shops at The Caring Place and Second Helping starting October 2nd while supplies last.

In addition, we are launching a Holiday Hygiene Drive to collect much-needed personal care items for our community. Switch those Food Drives to Hygiene Drives! We're asking for donations of unused toiletries, such as shampoo, toilet paper, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, feminine products, diapers and other necessities to keep our friends and neighbors "Healthy for the Holidays." These basic necessities can make a world of difference to the individuals and families we serve every day.

Be sure to check out the rest of this newsletter for more details on:

• How to help us boost our biggest fundraiser of the year in early 2025;
• How construction continues to impact our Donations drive through hours;
• Remaining dates for Loads of Caring at the Georgetown, Washatopia;

Your generosity, whether by shopping our sales, making a financial gift, donating items, or spreading the word, helps keep our mission alive and thriving. With a growing number of people turning to The Caring Place for assistance, your involvement is more important than ever.

We appreciate everything you do to support our work, and together, we're making a meaningful impact for thousands of neighbors.

Warmly,

Ginna O'Connor

Executive Director

Sponsors Needed!

Did you know The Caring Place relies on one major fundraising event each year? And we're looking for sponsors!

Since 2020, our signature event, Amplify, has been a completely online experience. No auctions, no tickets. Just our community's heartfelt generosity. We've found that our supporters want their donations to make the biggest possible impact and Amplify allows us to do just that. That's where your company or organization's help comes in.

Through generous sponsors, we can amplify the impact of your community's monetary gifts and help even more families in need. Last year, we raised over $152,000 because of the combined efforts of our community and sponsors. Amplify sponsors for The Caring Place matched the gifts of our community during the official giving time to reach our giving goal. We are gathering sponsor commitments right now!

Join our list of sponsors by contacting Rita at 512-943-0702 or rturner@caringplacetx.org. You can also visit caringplacetx.org/sponsor to download a sponsor packet today. Your sponsorship offers your organization great perks like newsletter and ad mentions, social media boosting and t-shirt space, but the thing you'll love most is how you will directly leverage giving in our community.

What are the Bargain Bins

at The Caring Place?

Looking for a deal on gently used clothing and textiles? Look no further than our Bargain Bins! Located near the back of The Shops at The Caring Place, these red bins can be filled with a variety of items for just $5 per bag.

How it works:

Grab a brown paper bag and start filling it with items from the designated bins. Once your bag is full, have our attendant tape it shut and take it to the front register to pay.

Why shop the Bargain Bins?

• Save big: Get more for your money - those bags fit a lot!
• Support a good cause: Your purchases help support The Caring Place's mission to provide for the basic human needs of our community. You do that simply by shopping with us.
• Reduce waste: By giving these items a second chance, we can be better stewards with the donations our community gives.

Bargain Bin Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Volunteer Opportunity: If you love that we are providing even more ways for folks to buy affordable clothing and that we are working to keep clothing out of the landfills, consider volunteering in this area! We are currently looking to fill shifts on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. or 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Visit caringplacetx.org/volunteer to sign up.

Ready to attend a Volunteer Orientation to get started? The first step is to fill out the Volunteer application on our website.

Fill out a Volunteer application NOW!

After completing the application, Dennis Hilgeman, our Volunteer Coordinator, will call you to invite you to a Volunteer Orientation. Feel free to give him a call at 512-943-0708 with all of your volunteering questions or email him at dhilgeman@caringplacetx.org. We look forward to meeting you!

Donate Food

The Caring Place accepts food donations and hygiene items to supplement our busy Food Pantry. You can bring food donations to our drive through at 2000 Railroad Avenue during their regular hours or deliver to Pantry donations to the reserved parking space in the north parking lot during regular Food Pantry Hours. Those hours are: Mon, Tues, Wed, and Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you’d like to help the Food Pantry by coordinating a Food Drive, contact the Food Programs office of The Caring Place at 512–943-0738 or email fooddonations@caringplacetx.org.

Donate Your Stuff

Item donations provide affordable necessities for our community and support our mission to provide for the basic human needs of all people in our community. Through your fabulous donations, we also raise money to help neighbors with rent, utilities, transportation and more when they have financial hardships.

Ensure you are bringing items that we can sell in our stores by utilizing our Donations Flyer. We have a flyer that includes the things we do not take due to safety or disposal costs and can be found at caringplacetx.org/donatemystuff.

Would you like to donate large pieces of furniture? We have a designated pick-up service area to help you with those requests. Learn more about this designated area at caringplacetx.org/donatemystuff or call 512-943-0711 to request a pickup.

Donate a Monetary Gift

The gift you give today directly impacts families struggling in our community.

Whether it's food, rent, clothing or another type of assistance, The Caring Place can only do this work with the help of generous supporters like you. We can use your gifts where we need them most to help our neighbors, or you can designate your gift to the Food Pantry.

Give today at caringplacetx.org/donate.

Do you shop at Randalls? Print and fill out this document to have your purchases at Randalls support our mission. Submit the form to the Randalls Courtesy Booth.

DOWNLOAD FLYER

Let's increase the number of folks who participate in this program so that you help The Caring Place when you buy your groceries.