New Van Will Help Staff with Donation Pick Ups

2019 was a year of celebrating the work of long-serving staff members. At our Annual Luncheon this year, we feted our Warehouse Manager Jerry Ayala for 30 years and Development Director Tracy Wallace for her 20 years of service. (See article in this issue for more details on Tracy and Jerry.) The Luncheon was also the setting for introducing the newest member of the Shelter Partnership team: our new van!

With so many homeless service programs expanding due to Measure H funding, we have seen a major uptick in the need for Shelter Partnership’s resources. To deal with this, we needed to bring in more help . . . in the form of a new Nissan NV2500 high-roof cargo van. 

Our new van will be indispensable in helping us pick up donations all across L.A. County. It allows our staff to collect intact pallets of goods, instead of loading and unloading boxes like we did with our old van.  And, it also serves as moving billboard by showing how our S. Mark Taper Foundation Shelter Resource Bank warehouse works via large graphics on both sides of the van.

At our Annual Dinner in May, we raised nearly $30,000 during a live pledge drive toward the purchase of the van. Later in the summer, we launched our first crowdfunding campaign to help cover the rest of the sticker price.  A good deal at the dealership helped too!  Thank you to all our friends in the greater Los Angeles community who helped us with their financial generosity.

You can still help! The van is purchased, but there are still expenses related to operating our new vehicle. Support Shelter Partnership and our work across L.A. County by texting the word “Van” to 41-444. No gift is too small and every donation is very much appreciated.