We are excited about the next decade!!
We just celebrated 10 years of service to the community, and we are ready for what God has in store for us. We know it involves ONE BOX TRUCK…and maybe more!
Eight years ago, we felt the nudge to be either mobile, have a location in Richmond city, or have some sort of delivery service. We weren’t exactly sure what direction we were supposed to take or why it was so important.
Our clients were driving from Richmond city all the way down Hull Street into the heart of Midlothian to receive services. We learned through their testimonies that transportation was a huge obstacle for these individuals and families.
We had challenge after challenge with the county as we didn’t fit into any mold for zoning…along with serving and building restrictions and issues, growing pains, process challenges, difficulty managing volunteers properly, non-profit compliance hurdles, and then the pandemic hit! This was not time to think about expansion or buying a box truck!
In 2018, we conducted our very first “white-board” meeting to help us define who we are, why we exist for the client, volunteer, and the community. In that same meeting, under opportunities, someone mentioned going mobile. In addition, at our very first Strategic Planning Meeting in 2019, the word “box truck” must have emerged 25 times as a solution to many of the obstacles we were facing in serving our clients.
So, here we are, with our first 16-foot 2013 Ford E350 box truck and we are “ready to roll” with clear vision and purpose for this arm of the ministry. We are calling the program Mercy Mall On the Move.
This box truck will serve 2 purposes:
To transport pre-packed orders during distribution events in the Richmond area and other under-served areas.
To collect critical items during neighborhood or corporate collection drives
These new programs will also provide more volunteer and outreach opportunities for groups to serve. It’s a win/win! With this growth on the horizon, we are looking for more volunteers to do the following: Host-a-Drive or Volunteer in the Boutique.
Join a team that is moving and shaking in this community! We promise you’ll meet some really great people, and also have fun while encouraging and helping others!!
2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.