Spotlight on Sauk Centre

Providing individuals with disabilities the opportunity to work and live in their community is exactly what WACOSA’s mission is all about. WACOSA has two locations - one in Waite Park and one in Sauk Centre. Our Sauk Centre location provides many services to the community, including contract packaging and assembly work, “Can-do” Crews, and business staffing.

The first Business Solution offered at WACOSA’s Sauk Centre location is contract packaging and assembly work. Our sales and production staff strive to have a complete understanding of your project, whatever you needs happen to be. Some services include inventory control, pre-operational checklists and training, re-work, and quality checking. Outsourcing to WACOSA can benefit your company in many ways; cutting your costs, boosting your revenue, easing labour shortages and much more.

Our “Can Do” Crews are another option to help your local businesses. Our crews consist of five to seven people and we offer cleaning services, product tear-down, assembly, packaging, labelling, and quality checking and re-work. With a 97% satisfaction rating, it’s easy to see why our “Can Do” Crews are so popular around the St. Cloud region.

Staffing your business is another service of WACOSA’s Sauk Centre location. When set to staff your business, we are committed to the highest standards in job training, coaching, and support. We work diligently with each client to get teams trained until they feel comfortable to produce their own work. We also find it important to have follow-ups with our staffing clients to keep in touch and ensure success within their business.

Although Sauk Centre does not have a thrift store, we do still accept donations at the location. Docu-Shred is also only available at the Waite Park Location, but the Waite Park location works with customers at Sauk Centre to shred their documents.

Our vision at WACOSA is that individuals of all abilities are empowered to reach their full potential. Our vision is made possible through the array of services we offer the community. To get updates about WACOSA, like us on Facebook.

Preparing for Give to the Max Day 2015

Preparing for Give to the Max Day 2015

 

Minnesotans around the state are gearing themselves for Give to the Max Day in hopes of breaking last year’s record of  $18 million donated to schools and nonprofits throughout the land of 10,000 lakes.

Give to the Max day is extremely important for nonprofits because it strengthens the nonprofit community by making their organizations more well known in the area. Creating relationships with community members helps find supporters that are passionate about the same goals and missions of making the community a better place.

GiveMn is a resource to help connect people with organizations within Minnesota. Every year, GiveMn sets aside one day to fundraise as much as possible for local schools and nonprofits in our community called Give to the Max Day. Fundraising is a major part of Give to the Max Day. Fundraising for your favorite organization can be difficult, but don’t let that stop you- there are tons of simple ways to get involved:

Use the Media

Using media to your advantage helps get the word out to all people in your communities. Contacting news stations, local newspapers, radio talk shows, and social media help spread the world about your passion for fundraising. The more people that know about the event, the more donors you receive.

MORE is More

Focus on getting multiple donors rather than focusing on the amount each individual donor gives. If you spend your time getting people to donate, they will be more interested in the cause with which you are participating rather than just solely asking for a number. Fundraising is all about the way you present it. Grab your audience’s attention making them want to support your mission.

Cite your Source

If you want people to donate to an organization because it means something special to you, tell them why it is important. Explain to potential donors why the organization is important to you and what, in your eyes, makes it special and worth funding. genuine appreciation through the eyes of someone involved will speak much louder than any other selling tactic you can think of.

This year, Give to the Max day is set for November 12, 2015, so grab your best fundraising skills, make a plan,  and let’s do our best to earn some funds for Minnesota Schools and nonprofits! If you have yet to choose a nonprofit, make WACOSA your organization of choice by visiting our Give MN page.

Identity Theft: Top 8 Things to Shred Right Now

Phillip Cummings was a help-desk worker at a software firm. During his stay in 1999, he stole spreadsheets and login information, granting him access to a number of employee credit reports. The criminals he sold the information to made $50-$100 million from the 33,000 people whose reports were stolen.

In 1994, Jeri Marks received a letter informing her that her 12 year-old son Gabriel’s taxes had already been filed. Jeri discovered that an illegal immigrant stole her son’s social security number. To this day, Gabriel still faces problems from the theft, and hopes to get a new social security number to resolve the problem.

So, how do you protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft? The best thing to do is be wary of who you give personal information to. Shredding important documents that thieves can use to harm you is crucial. Keeping these documents around is asking for trouble.

 

Top 8 things to shred right now: 

· Old Tax Returns

· Bank Statements

· Credit card offers

· Old Photo IDs

· Pay Stubs

· Convenience checks

· Cancelled Checks

· Cancelled Credit Cards

If there’s one thing to learn from any case of identity theft, it’s that it really isn’t possible to be too careful when it comes to protecting your identity. Identity theft can drastically impact your life and those around you, so taking every precaution with data protection is critical to maintaining your safety. WACOSA’s DocuShred service has over 25 years of experience in the destruction of personal and business information. With DocuShred, you can be provided with the kind of total security and reliability you require to keep your identity safe.

Pick-up or drop-off services are available. Our convenient drop-off store is open to the public for business or personal needs. Hours are 10am-6pm, no appointment necessary. Pick-up services are available, as well as consoles or caster carts to safely store your documents.

WACOSA DocuShred is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), which gives our customers further assurance that we meet all the stringent demands of running a safe and secure document destruction facility.

To learn more, click here.

THRIFTWORKS!, a thrift store in Waite Park, MN, is operatedby WACOSA, a nonprofit serving adults with disabilities. All proceeds benefit WACOSA whose mission is to provide individuals with
disabilities the opportunity to work and live in their community.

 

Waite Park shopping & donation hours:

310 Sundial Drive (just east of Crafts Direct) Convenient drive-thru drop off Monday - Friday 10:00am to 7:00pm

Saturday 9am to 5pm Closed Sundays


Sauk Centre donation only hours:

712 Lincoln Loop in Sauk Centre Drop off at main entrance Monday - Friday 9am to 4pm



Important details about our monthly specials

Military Mondays 25% off your purchase - must have valid military ID Student Tuesdays 25% off your purchase - must have valid student ID Senior Wednesdays - 55 or over, must have valid picture ID White & yellow tags are excluded from all specials and coupons No cash value with any of our specials or coupons

FOLLOW WACOSA ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES AND SPECIALS Ask about joining our ThriftWorks! email list for exclusive specials!

Making A Difference!

Since we began in 1963, we’ve been determined to make a difference for those with disabilities. We firmly believe that every individual is capable of positively contributing to their community and to society as a whole. Regardless of the type of disability, with the proper support and training, our clients excel in the workplace. We’ve been told time and time again that the amount of passion they bring is inspiring; hearing this feedback never gets old. It’s what keeps us striving to provide even more opportunities and further expand employment for the disabled community. We’ve come a long way, but the job is never done!

                  To provide a brief overview of our services, there are two main tactics we use for employment. The first is in-center work, which is held at one of our own sites. This consists of production work such as assembling, labeling, packaging products, shredding confidential documents, or recycling duties. The other option incorporates a little more direct involvement with the community. Either individually or in a work group, our clients work in various central Minnesota businesses where they partake in the typical job training before being fully submersed in the work atmosphere. These positions can be short-term but it’s very common for them to turn into long-term employment.

                  We can’t thank the community enough for all of the support they have given Wacosa over our 50 years of service. It’s helped us open the doors to even more opportunities. Most recently, we’ve opened up a thrift shop in Waite Park called Wacosa Thriftworks! Feel free to stop to make a donation or do a little shopping, or both! Also, On July 20^th, the St. Cloud Rox baseball team generously hosted Wacosa night. For every general admission ticket sold, Wacosa benefited $3. It was so great to give the public a chance to contribute to our mission and to see the smile on their faces because of the difference they knew they were making. 

                  Throughout the Central Minnesota area, we’ve been blessed to be able to impact the lives of over 500 disabled individuals. Every day at Wacosa is truly rewarding for everyone involved – we look forward to the many more great years of service and progress to come!

                  

1st Annual Opening Doors Conference

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1^st Annual Opening Doors Conference

When: Wednesday, June 26^th, 2013

Where: Kelly Inn

                   100 4^th Ave. South

                   St. Cloud, MN 56301

What: WACOSA is proud to be hosting their first “Opening Doors” conference featuring James Emmett, a national leader with expertise in creating outreach efforts for disabled individuals. As a person with a disability himself, James has never let any circumstances stop him from making a huge impact with his work. Some of his accomplishments include: working with many respectable companies to help them develop programs to benefit the disabled community, earning millions of dollars in grants and incentives to be put towards these causes, and completing an article for the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. He did this all while undergoing the process of writing his own book.

With over twenty years of experience, James has presented at more than 200 conferences around the world. This particular conference will cover many bases in regards to everyday issues encountered while out in the working world. James will begin by discussing the process of planning a career. This leads into how to further grow and develop communication skills necessary for any job as well as teaching resolution tactics for all sorts of possible employee problems. His presentation will also thoroughly cover the impact the environment has on the business community.

Why: The better question is, why not? The “Opening Doors” conference is especially beneficial to those with Autistic disabilities, but topics are not limited to this demographic specifically. The information presented will be valuable to anyone interested in expanding opportunities for those who struggle to find employment due to their disability. It will be well worth your time and money to spend the day listening to an experienced speaker with impressive credentials. It’s guaranteed you will leave having broadened your knowledge in at least one of the ideas covered.

*ASL Translator will be available

Registration Deadline: JUNE 10th

Click here to register NOW!

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=kzgqu5lab&oeidk=a07e71rcexh2d0cfe81

                 

Meet Lisa and Chad

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Meet Lisa Anderson and Chad Thielman. 

 Lisa is the store manager for WACOSA THRIFTWORKS!. She has worked with WACOSA for three years. Lisa came to WACOSA with over 16 years of Retail Management experience. Lisa’s personality and focus on a positive customer experience gives the store a very warm, and welcoming environment for all of our shoppers. Lisa’s creativity will be responsible for the displays and merchandising of goods and store appearances at THIRFTWORKS!. Lisa’s strong interpersonal and relationship skills make her a great leader for our client programs, hiring, training and staff supervision.


Chad oversees the Donation Center operations. He came to WACOSA with over 15 years of experience in Sales, Sales Management, and Marketing. Efficiency, productivity and quality assurance are a strong focus for Chad. His goal is to keep prices low and quality high, and of course to ensure valued customer experience every time. Chad handles much of the day-to-day business reporting for WACOSA Staff and oversight Committees.


Lisa and Chad would like to invite you into WACOSA THRIFTWORKS! to personally meet and extend WACOSA’s warmest appreciation for your support. With over 500 new items hitting the floor daily you will be sure to find something you like. The store committee teams combined effort will absolutely give you a shopping experience like no other Thrift store.

THRIFTworks! Grand Opening

We are excited to announce that THRIFTworks! Grand Opening is May 4th from 9am to 5pm and we want you to join us in the celebration.

A few exciting things that will be taking place

Matt & Amy from Wild Country 99 will be here from 12pm-3pm

Trevor Paul Davis, local author booksigning 12pm-3pm

Dickey's Barbecue Pit will be handing out coupons for a FREE sandwich (while supplies last)

Registrations for a chance to WIN an iPad or iPad mini, sponsored by Insight Insurance Services

Drawing for the iPad mini will be announced on May 4th 

Register at THRIFTworks! through the entire month of May, 2013 

for the16 GB iPad featuring retina display and wi-fi

                                                           No purchase necessary, must be 18 to enter. Official rules available by request. 

Trevor Paul Davis will be at THRIFTworks! on May 4th for book signings.

Trevor Paul Davis is from Dassel, Minnesota.  His diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrom has not kept him from finding success in life.  He graduated from Dassel-Cokato High School in 2010 and currently attends St. Cloud State University.  He enjoys playing piano, teaching Bible verses to children as a leader at AWANA, and spending time with his two dogs, Patches and Izzy.  In 2009 he received the honor of Eagle Scout through his involvment with Boy Scouts of America.

Trevor is now pursuing his dream of becoming a librarian and best-selling children's book author.  Trevor's love of trains inspired him to create "The Adventures of Charley McChooChoo" children's book series.  His first book, "Danny and the Whistling Engine", was released during Autism Awareness Month in April 2012. The Moral of the story: turning a disability into an ability!  For more information about how to purchase books from this series visit www.CharleyMcChooChoo.weebly.com.

                               

4 Reasons you should donate to THRIFTWORKS!

1. Clear the clutter. Reduce stress by decluttering your home. Research shows that we secrete the stress hormone cortisol when surrounded by disarray. This is what creates stress. Reclaim your serenity and your surroundings.

2. Set a good example. Teach children about the importance of giving. Encouraging charitable giving is a great way to instill awareness of a greater good.

3. Recycle. By donating unwanted items to THRIFTWORKS! you are recycling. This greatly reduces landfill waste and provides multiple benefits to the environment.

4. Provide jobs and support WACOSA’s mission. THRIFTWORKS! Is employed by WACOSA workers. WACOSA is an accredited non-profit organization that connects the employment needs of the business community to individuals who, due to disabilities, had not realized their full potential.

Donating to THRIFTWORKS! is easy and rewarding! Watch this video to see just how easy it is...

By choosing to donate to THRIFTWORKS! you are supporting an accredited non-profit organization and your local community. For more information on THRIFTWORKS! and WACOSA visit our website or follow us on Facebook!

Donation drop off hours are Monday – Friday 9am – 6pm.