Thrifty stores running by the Rescue Mission generate $19 million in sales; revenues help fund programs and services to the needy

By Mary Beth Roach

Thrifting at the Syracuse Rescue Mission Alliance’s stores means big savings for price-conscious shoppers.

And it means a big boost in the local nonprofit organization’s revenue line and its ability to continue providing programs and services.

The Rescue Mission’s 17 Thrifty Shoppers and two 3fifteen stores are just one part of the Rescue Mission’s Social Enterprise Division, which altogether makes up 68% of the revenue side Rescue Mission’s budget. The other components of the division include a 60,000-square-foot donation redistribution center in Liverpool and its partnerships with various salvage operators.

“You can thrift to make others thrive,” according to Luana Lovenguth, who, as chief social enterprise officer for the organization, oversees the organization’s thrift stores, its massive distribution center, and the salvage operation.

The stores, themselves, she said, generated more than $19 million in 2023. The two 3fifteen stores, which offer more brand-name items in smaller, more boutique-like settings than its Thrifty Shopper counterparts, are located at the Elm Hill Plaza on Milton Avenue in Camillus and Marshall Square Mall, near Syracuse University.

The 17 Thrifty Shopper stores are located as far north as Watertown, as far east as New Hartford; south to Binghamton; and west to Seneca Falls. In this area, there is one in Oswego; one in Westvale Plaza; and one in the Valley section of Syracuse.

“We try to make the most out of every donation that we get,” she said and the Rescue Mission’s resale and salvage operations bear that out.

To get the most, though, is an extensive process that she outlined. When items are brought into the donation sites, they’re delivered to the distribution center, where they are sorted. If it’s in sellable condition, it goes to the stores. Between 70,000 and 75,000 articles of clothing are sent out to the 19 stores for resale weekly, she noted.

The unsellable items are sold to various salvage businesses.

For example, if a toy is broken or missing a part, people can still donate it, since the Rescue Mission works with an organization that will buy the wood, plastic and metal toys for 18 cents a pound.

Same with clothing or textiles. If a piece is ripped, stained, torn or pilling, a lot of people will throw it away. The average American throws away 80 pounds of clothing every single year, Lovenguth said. The Rescue Mission will accept these donations as long they don’t have gas or motor oil on them or aren’t wet. The items are baled and sold, many of which then get shredded into industrial rags.

The salvage operation — cardboard, metal, books, toys, textiles, shoes, purses and belts, for example — provides the organization with about $1.5 million every year, she estimated.

In a sense, the social enterprise division is economically and environmentally friendly. It helps families get more for their money in their stores; it keeps about 10 million pounds of items out of the trash and landfills in the nine counties that they operate annually, according to Lovenguth. And it allows the Rescue Mission to provide services and programs to thousands of individuals annually, while being less dependent on government funding and donations.

According to the organization’s 2023 fiscal report, aside from the 68% of its revenue coming from the social enterprise operations, 14% of its revenue come from government grants and 12% from a combination of general contributions, legacies and bequests.

Government funding and contributions can vary from year to year, so the shops and salvage operations provide a steadier stream of revenue and allows the organization to sustain its business model, Lovenguth said.

The Rescue Mission operates programs in Syracuse, Auburn and Binghamton. Among its services are emergency shelter, meals, supportive permanent housing, employment resources, spiritual care and helping to access support services.

In addition, this past Thanksgiving, Lovenguth said the organization delivered 2,800 Thanksgiving meals — and its Rescue Mission Housing Association is becoming more involved in providing affordable housing.

Toward that end, it has purchased property on Polk Street in Syracuse with 40 efficiency apartments that will eventually become part of its program, Lovenguth said.

In a 2022 interview with In Good Health newspaper, Rescue Mission director Dan Sieburg said that he believes their clients need such housing for “sustainability and to really achieve their higher level of independence” and that the Rescue Mission needs “to be the ones to start to create that kind of housing.”