Salt and Light Ministries has been operating in North Champaign since 2004, providing food, clothing, work experience, financial experience, and more for community members in need. It’s a marvelous place to donate your stuff in that they take most things AND they even reuse and recycle the bags and boxes that donations come in.
They are now prepared to open a second location on Philo Road in Urbana, in the old County Market building. It’s an enormous space, and will house a grocery store and thrift shop that is open to all, as well as a second donation center. See the press release below for info about their Grand Opening celebration this Thursday, December 14th.
SALT & LIGHT GRAND OPENING IN URBANA
Urbana, IL: On Thursday, December 14th, 2017 at 8:30 am Salt & Light will celebrate the Grand Opening of their second location with a short program and ribbon cutting to include the Mayors from both Champaign and Urbana, along with other guests. The store is located in the former County Market Building at 1819 S Philo Road in Urbana.
Salt & Light employs a unique and innovative approach for addressing chronic food insecurity and access to other basic needs, which builds on the strengths of families and individuals by providing opportunities for them to acquire the resources they need through their own skills, gifts and abilities.
In their credit system participants have the opportunity to volunteer at any non-profit in Champaign County, and for every hour they work, earn $8.25 (minimum wage) in store credit. Credit can be used to purchase everything from groceries and basic home and healthcare needs to clothing, household items or even furniture.The new 57,000 square foot location in Urbana will allow Salt & Light to improve access to its opportunities for a population for whom they are currently inaccessible. This site will provide much needed space for current operations, future growth and the capacity to collaborate with other non-profit partners as part of a co-location model.
The new location will offer:
• Grocery & Thrift Store: both the grocery and thrift store are open to the general public with proceeds funding programming and the store credit participants earn.
• Computer Technology Center: offering 18 workstations initially, Salt & Light will provide access to a much-needed resource while creating opportunities for educational programming.
• Childcare: participants in the programming will have access to free, safe, and reliable childcare while working onsite or attending classes onsite, removing this obstacle from participation.
• Workplace Preparedness Training: participants will receive classroom instruction for both soft skills job training and financial education, combined with practical on the job training while working towards outside employment.
• Coffee Shop: by the spring of 2018 Salt & Light will open a full-service coffee shop bringing a resource to the area currently unavailable, while creating a training ground for participants in the programming.