Updates/ News

January 2025

2024 at SCHIP

Happy New Year!

We are in awe as we enter the second week of January and reflect on 2024. This has been an epic year for SCHIP. Among many milestones achieved, we would like to share just a few with you:

·       Over 10K items sold, including Women's and Men's Clothing, Accessories, Shoes, Jewelry, Children's Clothing, and Home Goods.

·       6,156 Customers served

·       First-time customers number almost tripled in 2024

·       Generated $80,970 in grants to more than 31 community organizations and schools.

·       Store & warehouse manager hired - elevating SCHIP to new heights

·       New program Children’s Clothing Fund created

This remarkable year was made possible by the collective effort of our team. It truly takes a village—10+ volunteers, 15 Board members, one full-time store & warehouse manager, 16 Part-time Staff, and 5,000+ hours of sorting, moving, and merchandising. We have immense gratitude for each of you; we couldn’t have done it without you.

We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our shoppers and everyone who generously donated their gently used goods. Your support and contributions have been instrumental in our achievements this year.

November 2024

NEW PROGRAM 

Children’s Clothing Fund

SCHIP has been invited to participate in the Shelburne Community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, November 24th, at the All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne. We had an opportunity to introduce SCHIP, our work, our history and mission, and the programs we run. We also shared more about the grants we award twice a year to nonprofit organizations, schools, and eligible agencies serving the Shelburne, Charlotte, and Hinesburg communities.

The participants' offerings collected after the service were generously gifted to SCHIP’s new Children’s Clothing Fund program. This program ensures that every child in our communities can access warm clothing this winter.

The congregation's generosity, together with an anonymous donor who matched the total amount collected and an additional grant disbursed by SCHIP, reached nearly $3000. Gift cards for local retailers will be distributed among families where a need for children's winter clothing was determined.

We are deeply grateful for the generosity of All Souls Interfaith Gathering and its service participants, and we are immensely joyful to be part of this beautiful and caring community.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in this cause. Your generosity and consideration make a difference in the lives of others.

October 2024

FALL 2024 GRANT AWARDS

SCHIP awards grants totaling $44,000.

SCHIP, your popular non-profit resale store in Shelburne Village, is proud to announce that a whopping $44,000 was awarded in the Fall 2024 grant disbursement to fifteen local nonprofits that met the grant eligibility criteria. These nonprofits include Age Well, Burlington Dismas House, Camp Knock Knock, Champlain Housing Trust, Charlotte Congregational Church, CVSD Community Skills (CVU), Farm Stand Together, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity, Hinesburg Community Resource Center, Joint Urban Ministry Project (JUMP), Merrymac Farm Sanctuary, ReSOURCE’s Essential Goods Program, Shelburne Food Shelf, VT Adaptive Ski and Sports, and VT Catholic Charities.

We have donated locally over $960,000 in total since 2003.

SCHIP is on a journey of growth and impact, and we owe it all to the unwavering support of our community. We thank everyone who donates gently used clothing, household goods, art, and jewelry, as well as our regular and new shoppers. All donations are carefully sorted, appraised, and distributed to our store in Shelburne Village for resale. Profits raised are awarded in the form of grants twice a year to eligible organizations that serve and primarily support the communities of Hinesburg, Shelburne, and Charlotte. Please visit our website at www.theschip.org or email us at grants@theschip.org to learn more about the grant application process.

We would also like to thank our dedicated employees, volunteers, and board members, without whom none of this would be possible.

We are deeply grateful for your continued support, whether by donating goods, shopping at our store, or volunteering your time. 

SCHIP is proud to be a hub for sustainable shopping and a catalyst for positive change in our community.

October 2024

NEWS FROM SCHIP

Store & Warehouse Manager Announcement

We are happy to announce that SCHIP has been joined by Paula Simons, who accepted our offer to become our Store & Warehouse Manager. 

Paula brings over 30 years of experience in retail operations, customer service, team leadership, and project management. She worked for SCHIP briefly in 2022 as a consultant and is now returning to Vermont to commence her position at SCHIP, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Please join us in welcoming Paula into Shelburne business community. We wish her great success and have no doubt she will become a great asset to SCHIP’s mission and operation within our community.

Exemplary Volunteer Acknowledgement

SCHIP would also like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude to our longtime volunteer, Operations Chair and Board Member, Jessica Meller. 

Jessica joined SCHIP six years ago as a volunteer at our Store & Warehouse. Since then, Jessica’s unique skills and her commitment, both in time and energy, have been indispensable to SCHIP’s success and impact on this community. Among her numerous contributions are the introduction of effective ways of streamlining the movement of donated goods into the shop and to customers, onboarding new employees, redesigning the retail space into its current boutique-like atmosphere, and completely reorganizing our large warehouse. We appreciate her time, effort, and wealth of experience, which continue contributing to SCHIP’s successful operations.

We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have Jessica and Paula as part of our team.

September 2024

Don't forget: The deadline for SCHIP’s Autumn 2024 grants application is September 15th!

SCHIP is a popular nonprofit upscale resale shop located in the heart of Shelburne Village. It was founded in 2003 by a group of dedicated local women who shared a common goal - to support various projects and causes that positively impact our neighbors' lives. Over the years, we have raised over $950,000 through resale of locally donated gently used clothing, housewares, and jewelry.

The profits are returned to the community in the form of grants awarded twice a year to eligible organizations, individual entrepreneurs, and associations to fund projects that serve the residents of Shelburne, Hinesburg, and Charlotte.

We offer two types of grants: smaller grants for up to $3,000 and major grants for up to $15,000. The major grant is designed to provide seed money for future self-sustaining projects.

To be eligible, the applicant must have 501c(3) status or must submit the application through such an organization, and the funded project has to serve residents of Shelburne, Hinesburg, and Charlotte. The funds cannot be used for annual operating budgets or to cover permanent staffing costs.

In the past, our grants have supported various organizations within our communities, including rescue squads, farmers' coalitions, police departments, daycare centers, refugee support services, food shelves, senior support organizations, schools, nonprofit resale shops, and disability services networks.

To learn more about the eligibility requirements and application process, as well as to see past grant recipients, please visit our website at www.theschip.org. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via email at grants@theschip.org.

We look forward to hearing from you and to collaborating with you on funding your community support projects.

SCHIP is proud to be a hub for sustainable shopping and a catalyst for positive change in our community.