Grab Bag Revisited: A Tale of Two Schools

Earlier this week I walked over to  NAEIR’s  Grab Bag area to meet with a couple of member organization representatives – that have different approaches to Grab Bag as well as different sets of needs from those members I interviewed in my Grab Bag 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 posts.  During this particular visit I talked with representatives from Visitation Elementary School and Edgewood-Colesburg Elementary School; two long-time NAEIR members.

Mac Olsen, an administrator at
Edgewood-Colesburg Elementary
School, with her Grab Bag finds.

I spent some time with Susan Welgat of Visitation Elementary School; a Catholic school in Kewanee, IL, about 45 minutes away from the NAEIR facility. Although Welgat has been a member of NAEIR since its founding in 1977, she’s actually been coming to Grab Bag since NAEIR’s move from the Chicago area to Galesburg, IL in 1986.

Welgat was candid in pointing out that even though that morning’s Grab Bag finds weren’t the best she had ever come across, they were still pretty good pickings. For one thing, she came across garlands that her organization will use as decorations for the school’s upcoming craft bazaar.  She also found a fully functional and comfortable office chair that she would be taking back to the school. In the past, Welgat has found some really useful items for Visitation including a variety of teacher supplies as well as napkins, office supplies, ribbon, and paper products.

Immediately after my time with Susan Welgat, I spoke with Mac Olsen of Edgewood-Colesburg Elementary School in Colesburg, IA, about 2 1/2 hours away.  Olsen told me that her school has been a member forever.  At the time, she couldn’t specifically remember how many years, but apparently the school system has been using NAEIR since as far back as NAEIR has been at its current location.  That would make it a 26 year relationship.  Olsen visits Grab Bag every time her school is eligible for a visit, i.e. - five times a year.  Over the years they have accumulated a plethora of money saving finds from Grab Bag.

Olsen picked up some Christmas decorations she’ll be using later in the year and some materials like paper supplies, ribbon, and teacher specialty items suitable for craft related projects.  In the past, Olsen has also come across cabinetry as well as counter tops, allowing the school to move forward on some needed renovations without incurring a huge cost.

No matter the type of member organization, the thrust of Grab Bag remains the same.  As was seen in the examples of Calvary Lighthouse, Truth Ministries, and Calvary Christian Academy during my previous posts - Grab Bag represents a valuable money saving asset for virtually any organization.  NAEIR members, who are overwhelmingly creative and forward-thinking in their approach to Grab Bag, make the most of the experience.  They will often further add to the savings of requesting, say, one pallet of goods from the catalogue, by filling up on stuff they find in Grab Bag.

From left to right: Clyde Sahn and
Walt Woodthorp from Wise Resources in
Wausau, WI along with Steve Adams, Grab
Bag supervisor, pose with their truck full
of  items from Grab Bag.

NAEIR members will come from all over in order to capitalize on the opportunity to go through Grab Bag. Today, I talked with members that were as far as 2 1/2 hours away.  Earlier talks a couple of weeks back with members featured  Jonathan  Eklof- who drove 7 hours from Anoka, Minnesota.  Sue Birky and Ann Good traveled 4 hours from Kouts, IN in order to come to NAEIR’s Grab Bag, as did Carl Thomas from Radiant Life Church in Festus, MO. In fact, NAEIR members as far away as California on the West coast and Pennsylvania on the East coast have driven to Galesburg, IL in order to take advantage of the Grab Bag experience while picking up their Catalog allocations.  This just goes to show that members find great value in Grab Bag.   Creative, resourceful member representatives combined with the mystery of not really knowing what “treasures” they might find from one visit to the next, make for productive Grab Bag experiences.

If that isn’t a way of “serving America’s schools and nonprofits through corporate inventory donations” I’m not sure what is!

Grab Bag 3.0: "It's Like Christmas Morning"

Jonathan Eklof, an administrator at Truth Ministries (a collection of small churches in Minnesota that reaches out to about 200 low-income families to provide food and supplies), didn’t originally intend to visit Grab Bag on the day I was interviewing.  He had come to pick up a load of five pallets of garbage can liners and had already pretty much maxed out his weight limit for his truck.

Jonathan Eklof, an administrator
at Truth Ministries, with his truck full
of garbage can liners

However, the lure of taking a walk through Grab Bag was too powerful to resist. Eklof likens Grab Bag to Christmas morning; you never know what you’re going to unwrap, or in the case of Grab Bag - find.  He admitted that this particular Grab Bag visit didn’t result in his unearthing anything in Grab Bag as “huge” as he’s discovered in previous visits.   It did appear however that between the loose-leaf dividers and binders that Truth Ministries would use to put together training manuals  and the Catalog order he’d  come to pick up that day that Eklof was pleased with the outcome of his visit to Galesburg.

Over the years Eklof has found some really useful items in Grab Bag.  Just last year, he picked up about a thousand pounds of paper that allowed Truth Ministries to cut down on their otherwise very expensive printing costs.  Eklof had to cut the paper himself, but it was a small price to pay to be able to do more with less.

Truth Ministries originally joined NAEIR  in 1991, but had to discontinue their membership a few years ago due to budget concerns.  They joined up again last year and have been coming to Grab Bag routinely since.

Paul and Marsha Troese, members
of Illinois District United Pentecostal
Church in Naperville, pose with 
their Grab Bag finds

Most organizations that come through Grab Bag have a similar purpose, a common goal - - to help others. This almost universally shared perspective on the part of NAEIR’s visiting members and Grab Bag staff alike is part of the very essence of Grab Bag; organizations taking care of their respective constituencies and helping each other.  For me, this was the most striking aspect of the Grab Bag experience.  As a newcomer to NAEIR, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I was asked to speak with some of the organization’s members.  Perhaps in my mind I imagined different members fighting over the one, last first aid kit. What I actually encountered was a community spirit, a sense of family that has affirmed my belief in the work of NAEIR and its members. 

Grab Bag 2.0: More With Less

Paul Swanson is an administrator at the Calvary Christian Academy, a K-12 school that aims at delivering the best possible Christian education to its students located in Normal, IL.  I got a chance to sit down and talk with Swanson about how and why he uses Grab Bag. Swanson has been a member of NAEIR for over 20 years and visits Grab Bag every time he comes to pick up an order. Swanson noted the importance of NAEIR overall to his school, and specifically Grab Bag as a means to cut costs and provide not just educational materials for his students, but items that administrators, teachers and families they serve can use.

Paul Swanson, an administrator at Calvary
Christian Academy, with his Grab Bag finds 

Swanson was able to find a slew of useful items for the school. David Mairs, of Calvary Lighthouse (who I introduced you to in Grab Bag 1.0: A Family Affair) let him know about the pallet of first aid kits that Calvary Christian Academy turned out to have a great need for.  Swanson also found gift bags and office supplies that a number of the school's hard working teachers will make use of in their classrooms along with a DVD science series that many of the schools programs and classes will use as well.

Swanson brought NAEIR to the Calvary Christian Academy’s attention about five years ago when he first started working there. He was already familiar with NAEIR at a public school where he had previously worked and when he arrived at Calvary was able to present NAEIR as a valuable resource that the school could use. In Swanson’s opinion, the best thing about NAEIR is that it “allows us to offer more to whatever ministry we serve at a reasonable price.”

Sue Birky and Ann Good, members
of Open Door Fellowship in Kouts IN, pose with
some of the items they found at Grab Bag

And that is really the heart of Grab Bag. For members, Grab Bag visits represent a phenomenal value, particularly whenever they come to pick up an order. They get 4 or 5 (depending on membership level) visits a year and many members take full advantage of this.  Moreover, as Steve Adams points out - the members that visit Grab Bag are very creative.  Swanson, for example, commented on how he was able to use different items that he’d found in Grab Bag for purposes they weren’t originally intended for.  He specifically talked about how during the spring, Calvary puts together Mission boxes that go to needy children. He often finds small items in Grab Bag that can later be put into these boxes, such as, random hair accessories, and personal care products. 

As both Mairs and Swanson have established, NAEIR’s Grab Bag has allowed their organizations to do more with less.  Budgets are tight for any group with the kind of goals that Calvary Christian Academy and Calvary Lighthouse have.  Jonathan Eklof, an administrator at Truth Ministries, exemplifies this type of attitude as well.  His organization has also been able to effectively cut costs through their Grab Bag visits.

 

Stay tuned for the final Grab Bag installment in which I talk to Jonathan Eklof.