Maggie’s Thrift was featured on raisingarizonakids.com. Below is an intro to the story.
Local families, individuals, groups and businesses have been generous with contributions to Phoenix-based Maggie’s Place, a community of homes offering support and hospitality to pregnant women who are homeless or alone. Countless boxes and truckloads of diapers, clothing, toys, books, household items and furniture have been donated over the years.
Sarah Keating served with live-in staff at both the Michael House in Glendale and the Elizabeth House in Tempe for two years. When she saw that donations the homes or departing moms weren’t able to use were passed along to other non-profits, she recalls wishing they could sell some of the donations they received to better benefit their moms.
As Keating was completing her commitment at Maggie’s Place in January 2011, co-founder and Executive Director Mary Peterson offered her a new position: to write a business plan, then open and manage Maggie’s Thrift Shop. The new venture would serve as a social enterprise project—creating job-training opportunities for guests, revenue for programs and a method for keeping the value of excess donations within the Maggie’s Place community.
