We announced earlier this year that Union Mission had acquired a building in Kanawha City that would serve as our new donation distribution center and a retail boutique. Progress is being made in the renovation of the building and configuring it to serve as an efficient  way to sort daily donations.

We are excited to announce that this month the Distribution Center of the building will be active! This new DC will allow us more room to sort through the donations we get daily at the thrift store loading dock. Here is a brief rundown of how the process works:

  • All donations are still made at the thrift store dock on South Park Road
  • Those donations are quickly sorted into key categories (clothes, appliances, electronics, etc)
  • All are transported to the DC where staff and volunteers will perform a detailed sort of items for condition and function
  • Some items will be returned to the thrift store for pricing and display, some will move into the boutique for retail sales, and some will be recycled.

“This new facility really gives us the room to sort items properly,” says Melissa Coleman-Wright, Thrift Store Director. “Our existing thrift store sorting room was way too small and items were stacking up faster than we could sort them. Having this new warehouse space will allow us to process donations quicker and do more detailed evaluation. We want to honor our donors by maximizing the potential of their donations. We constantly stress to our employees and customers that every dime made at these stores is used to help the hurting people of West Virginia.”

Melissa also explained how with this expansion into the new distribution center they were going to need additional full and part time staff.

“As we expand, we need more staff to help us with these processes. Our team is a great group of people who diligently work together to make the thrift store function. If anyone would like to join, they can call the mission to apply.”

The distribution center needs additional infrastructure additions like shelves, fork trucks, and other inventory management items. The plan is to add those as funds come available. If you would like more information about the distribution center or how you can help, contact Melissa Coleman-Wright at 304.925.0366.