Assistance League volunteer, Roz Worchester, prepares a coat for sale by steaming away any wrinkles that it might have gotten when folded. (Photo: Special to the Statesman Journal)
The Assistance League of Salem-Keizer helps more than 40,000 community members through its nine philanthropic programs.
These philanthropies acquire school supplies, clothes and shoes for children in need. They assist with in-school dental screenings. They provide birthday parties for homeless children. They offer art enrichment for eligible schools, as well as reading and literacy programs and educational puppet shows. They support and mentor 18-year-olds transitioning from foster care into independent living, and they deliver library materials to homebound adult patrons.
The Assistance League’s impact on the community is significant, but its impact on the environment is not.
The Assistance League was EarthWISE certified in 2011. EarthWISE staff help businesses recycle, save energy, reduce waste and much more.
To earn certification, a business meets criteria in six areas. The Assistance League is one of more than 150 EarthWISE businesses and organizations in Marion County.
One of the main ways the Assistance League raises money for its programs also reduces thousands of pounds of waste in Marion County.
The Assistance League operates the Daue House Gift Shop and Encore Furniture, two consignment stores that sell gently used gift items and household furnishings. In December, the Daue House sold more than 2,300 items, while Encore Consignment Furniture sold 128 pieces of furniture.
It’s no small impact on the waste stream.
“One day while I was volunteering at Encore, consignors brought in eight truckloads of furniture to Encore,” said Roxanne Shoemaker, chairperson of the Assistance League’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle committee. “That same day, over four truckloads of furniture were purchased.”
Not only do these consignment stores keep furniture and other household items out of Marion County’s waste stream, but they provide an income for consignors. Each consignor earns 60 percent of total sales of their items, with the other 40 percent going to fund the Assistance League’s philanthropic programs.
Since 2005, when Encore Furniture opened, consignors in the Salem-Keizer area have earned $1.23 million.
Seventy-four percent of the money made by the Assistance League goes back to the community — far exceeding the national average. The Assistance League is able to do this partly because no one receives a salary. All of its programs are run by more than 400 volunteers.
These volunteers have made it a mission to recycle or reuse almost all of the materials that come to the Assistance League.
For example, with Operation School Bell’s elementary program, which provides new clothing for children pre-K to grade 6, thousands of different sized plastic bags and hundreds of cardboard boxes need to be repurposed, reused or recycled.
The plastic bags are sorted and stored for reuse in the gift shop or at special events, taken to the Humane Society Thrift Shop and library, and delivered to Garten Services.
Other plastic bags have been offered to The Big Stitch and Northwest Human Services for use by crocheters who make them into sleeping pads for the homeless.
Styrofoam blocks are taken to Center Street Market, packing peanuts are delivered to the mail store, hangers go back to the dry cleaners, pallets are taken to Oregon Pallet or Garten, and fluorescent lights are brought to the Marion County Transfer Station.
All of the sorting and recycling has meant a huge reduction in garbage over the years. The Assistance League has reduced its weekly garbage from three roll-carts to one.
The nonprofit now has two recycling roll-carts and one specifically for cardboard.
Even the special fundraising events organized by the Assistance League are environmentally friendly.
The annual Lasagna Lunch, which feeds more than 700 people, operates as a nearly zero-waste event. Everything, including take-out containers, is reusable, recyclable or compostable.
This year’s Lasagna Lunch will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill. Lunch includes lasagna, a green salad, bread and dessert.
“We order mixed-organic carts for all of the food waste and organics, which is then taken for composting,” said Shoemaker. “Members take recycle items home, leaving just a 30-quart container of garbage.”
Assistance League volunteers are always on the lookout for ways to give more to the children and adults they serve and also operate gently on the Earth.
When the state of Oregon had 1,000 binders in its Surplus Property warehouse, Assistance League volunteers knew they could keep them from the landfill and use them in Operation Backpack, which provides school supplies to thousands of students.
Volunteers reused 830 binders, saving the program $3,320, which was used to buy more supplies for students.
“The binders are the most expensive item in the backpacks so not only did this allow us to repurpose that money, but it kept a huge volume of waste from the trash,” Shoemaker said.
“While members of Assistance League of Salem-Keizer engage in their efforts to deliver services to others, they recognize that incorporating EarthWISE policies and practices benefit their mission as well as better serve our Earth and its people.”
For more information about the EarthWISE program, go to www.mcEarthWISE.net or call 503-365-3188. To learn more about the Assistance League’s Daue House or Encore Furniture, visit www.assistanceleaguesalem.org or call 503-364-8318.
Beth Casper, Special to the Statesman Journal
