5 Services Your Donations Support at WACOSA

Your donations to WACOSA help support and make a difference in the lives of adults with disabilities, but have you ever wondered how? Your donations are greatly appreciated and make it possible for us to support our WACOSA clients with various services. These are just a few:

1. Activity Books

A $50 donation will provide one set of assorted activity books. Included in the set is four books, each with a different theme of puzzles, games, and trivia. Instead of having information read to them, our clients love to learn with activities like crossword puzzles and trivia questions.

2. Chairs

A $90 donation provides one chair for the WACOSA Senior Program at the Whitney Senior Center in St. Cloud. These chairs are made with sturdy metal and vinyl upholstery. Plus, they are very comfortable and easy to clean. These chairs are great for our seniors when they need to sit or stand.

3. Speaker System Upgrade

A $300 donation will help us to get one iPod to update the speaker system at our Waite Park site. Right now, we are in need of an iPod for each of the three program areas.

4. Refrigerator

A $500 donation will supply us with one under the counter refrigerator unit. This will help to improve meal preparation. Along with this, it will help improve our clients medication administration.

5. Washing Machine or Dryer

A $1,000 donation allows us to purchase one commercial grade washing machine or dryer for our Sauk Centre site. This is used to wash and dry materials used by the Can Do! Cleaning Crews. Since the crews are cleaning at various local businesses, more than 550 towels and 25 mop heads are washed every day.

Through your generous donations, you make WACOSA’s mission possible - to provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to work and live in their community. We are in need of multiples of almost every items. To learn more about how you can help, visit our donation page.

Volunteer Position: Retail Specialist

Retail Specialist

Provide upbeat, positive customer service to all who enter WACOSA’s ThriftWorks! store. Manage donation drop-off, including assisting customers with accepting donations and providing receipts as directed by staff members. Sort and/or price donations. May include operating cash register and/or merchandising items on the store floor. This volunteer position is available Monday through Friday between 10:00am - 7:00pm, and Saturdays from 9:00am - 5:00pm. We ask that you volunteer for a minimum 4-hour per week shift. The day / time you are scheduled may vary according to your availability and the needs of our organization. This volunteer position is available at 310 Sundial Drive, Waite Park, MN. 

Interested in Volunteering? 

Contact Andrea Harrell 

320-251-0087 ext 227

aharrell@wacosa.org

http://wacosa.org/ways-help/volunteer/

Back-to-school Recycling Tips

As August comes to a close, it's time to start preparing for back to school. This school season we encourage you to recycle, reuse and save money! At WACOSA, we encourage everyone to recycle.

Here are some recycling tips to help you begin. Perhaps you can even save this money for that new refrigerator you’ve been meaning to buy!

1. Sort through your child’s old materials. There might be materials that can be reused or recycled. For instance, old binders and folders can be reused. Paper that has been written on only one side can be reused as well; you can cut it up and re-staple it together to make a notebook.

2. Make a list of school supplies you absolutely have to buy! This will limit emotional impulse buying. Having a plan of action makes it easier and will make your shopping faster and more efficient. 

3. Buy recycled products – such as pencils made from old jeans and binders made from cardboard boxes. You can also buy used goods from resale shops. 

4. Save all packaging, colored paper, cardboard, and egg cartons for craft projects. For instance, egg cartons are really great for making small critters and animals. 

5. Maintain durable products such as backpacks and notebooks. These items can be used for years, which will help reduce the amount of broken materials thrown away each year. 

6. Shop for clothing at community thrift stores to help upcycle old clothes into new ones for your child this year. For instance, WACOSA ThriftWorks! has fashionable clothes that will surely impress your child’s friends on the first day of school. 

Make this year a good year and follow the 3 R’s to help recycle, reuse, and reduce!

This back-to-school season will be an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and fashionable one for you and your child!

Add Flair To Your Chair

You can find great quality chairs at thrift stores for a great price… but they may not be your style. This great opportunity for to practice your DIY skills! Here are 4 ways you can add flair to your chair:

1. Switch up the upholstery and you can transform an old beaten up chair into this decorative masterpiece! You can learn how to here.

2. Turn your fabric pieces inside out and pin them while on the chair for a fitted look! The trendy stripes on this chair are perfect for teenagers. Start making this chair here.

3. Office chairs don’t have to be boring! You can easily change the look by making a slipcover to put over it. This will completely brighten up your home office! Learn how to make this DIY chair here.

4. Look at this trendy nursery rocking chair! By simply painting it a different color and changing the cushioning of this rocking chair it gives it a totally new feel and look. 

Make your own trendy rocking chair.

When you’re out shopping for new furniture, stop by ThriftWorks! 

ThriftWorks! Home Makeover

It’s 10:00 PM and you’re still awake. You couldn’t fall asleep so you’re up in front of your TV with your remote in hand flipping through the channels until you land on your favorite home design show. A thought races through your mind “Wow, lucky people! If I only I had the budget to make my dinky old home beautiful.”

Not to worry! Anyone can beautify their home without breaking bank. By shopping at thrift stores in your surrounding community, you can change your home to look just like the one you saw on your favorite home design show. Get your walking shoes on and make sure you know where your tools are because there are many great items to use in crazy creative ways you haven’t even imagined! For instance, here are five ways to make window shutters into home décor (FYI there are many more ways than only these!):

1. Shutter Bulletin Board

2. Shutter Console Table

3. Shutter Headboard

4. Shutter Shelf Iron Brackets

5. Shutter Wall Clock

Window shutters can be used in so many ways to decorate your home! Well there’s definitely more ways and you can learn about them here.

Just like the window shutter example, you can find many items in your community thrift stores to decorate your home with without burning a hole in your wallet.

ThriftWorks is right here in St. Cloud and there are many cool items that can be used to makeover your home. Look at some of these cool items you can find in our store. 

Put down your remote control and put on your creative thinking hat! It’s your time to start having your own home design fun! 

May ThriftWorks! Specials

Recycling: A Different Perspective

At WACOSA we encourage everyone to recycle. While you probably have seen our recycling bins located across Central Minnesota, have you ever wondered what happens after you’ve dropped your plastic bottles in the bin?

There are three steps to the recycling process. Although the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle,” is commonly used, we hope our spin on the three steps will provide you with a new perspective of the recycling process.

1. Collection (Recycle)
Many homes and businesses have separate bins for recycled materials. Therefore, there are different methods of collection. The methods include: curbside pickup, drop-off centers, buy-back centers, and deposit/refund programs.

After the recyclables are collected, they are sent to a facility where they are sorted and prepared into profitable materials to be sold to different processing companies.

2. Processing (Reduce)
After being collected, the recycled goods are cleaned and sorted. Then they are processed to recover the raw materials. When the raw materials are retrieved, they are used to make the newly recycled products.

Before the recyclables can be made into new products, they must be broken down, melted or liquefied, and crushed or shredded.

3. Purchasing Recycled Products (Reuse)
Purchasing newly recycled products completes the recycling loop. These products are sent to stores to be purchased. The popularity of recycled products is growing immensely. More and more products are being manufactured with almost all recycled or partially recycled material. As long as we can keep it up with recycling, manufacturers will continue to produce high-quality recycled products.

Hoping to implement more recycling at your business or organization? Consider WACOSA’s recycling solutions. 

The Season of Shredding

It's everyone's favorite time of year...tax season! Whether you've finished filing your taxes or still need to begin, knowing which documents to save or shred is in important part of putting together your "tax puzzle".

Have you ever heard of the “Three Year Rule”? After you have filed your taxes, make sure to hold on to certain documents for at least three years. Why three years? You need to keep your documents that will support the items on your tax return for three years in case the IRS needs to start an audit.

Shred after three years:
· Tax return forms
· Tax return schedules
· Property records
· Investment records & statements
· Business assets (for depreciation)

These aren't the only records to shred after you have completely filed your taxes. To ensure you will not be a victim of identity theft, shred anything with sensitive information on it.

Documents to shred sooner than 3 years:
· Tax records
· Pay stubs
· Bank statements
· Credit card statements
· Medical records
· Insurance records
· IRA contributions
· Home purchase/sale/improvements
· Warranties

Don’t have a shredder? WACOSA's DocuShred, located next ThriftWorks!, will shred all of your confidential documents.

3 Thrift Store Finds You Won’t See at a Department Store

Thrift stores have a variety of different things, you never know what you are going to find. People shop at them because they are usually looking for certain things that department stores won’t have. Department stores typically provide matching sets of home décor and other high quality and expensive things, whereas thrift stores do not. Although thrifting can be fun, it takes a lot of patience. If you can’t find what you’re looking for one day, there are plenty of other days; people are always donating their antiques and other old things.

Here are 3 items that can be found at a thrift store and not at a department store:

1. Typewriters

Typewriters are a popular item to collect these days. People want them for display at their home or for use. They are a fun tool to have for scrapbooking; just make sure you test it out before bringing it home! Finding a typewriter at a thrift shop is either a hit or a miss. You have to shop at them regularly to find one because they are in high demand. If you aren’t picky about having a certain one and you see it at a thrift shop one day, buy it. Chances are the typewriter won’t be there the next day. On the other hand, if you are looking for a certain one, that will take some time. With some research and patience, you will find one.

2. VCRs

What's your favorite Disney VHS? 

Remember all the Disney movies on VHS? Everyone had them! Many people these days still have them because they are fun to have just in case you want to pop in an old classic one night. Even though Netflix has taken over, some households still have VCR players. If you don’t have one, they are so easy to find at thrift stores. People are donating them left and right because they have no use for them anymore. You can find one for $20 or less; and while you’re there, pick up a $.50 VHS.

3. Collectibles

If you are interested in a unique set of collectibles, thrift stores a great place to look for them. Collectibles like salt and pepper shakers, lunchboxes, porcelain dolls, stoneware crocks, and vintage glassware are popular in thrift stores. These items range from having a big display of them while others have only one or very few at a time. You just have to look through the entire thrift store. Only buy if it you really love it. Although you are a collector and you see a piece that you need, don’t get it if it’s not up to standards of what you’re looking for. There might be a little chip in it or missing a piece of it. You will find it!

If you’re looking for something specific and you know a department store won’t have it, check out your local thrift store. With a little high and low searching, you will find it. Also, many things there can be turned into an inexpensive and easy DIY project for your home. There is something for everyone at thrift shops; you won’t be disappointed in your finds.

So come check out ThriftWorks! at WACOSA, you might just find what you’re looking for.