Our Partnerships with the community are what make us stronger
“Strength is not about being able to do everything alone but having the courage to know when to ask for help for the overall good.”
At SAMU First Response, we know the power of teamwork and how far it goes to help those we serve. The partnerships that we have created and nourished help us to bring the best quality and care to every single individual that walks through our doors asking for help. We all need help, even those whose mission it is to help others, and because of that we are grateful for the partnership with Bee Thrifty Holdings LLC that we have had since the very beginning of our operations in Washington, D.C.
B-Thrifty is located in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 20 miles south of Washington, DC, and has been in business since 2011. Their mission is that everyone should have access to amazing clothes at affordable prices while we all help the environment. We proudly partner with them in an effort to actively combat clothing and material waste, while providing a means to help raise funds for SAMU’s mission in the United States and worldwide. Through their collaboration we are able to be a part of Project B Green, SAMU sponsored donation bins, and receive donations directly from B-Thrifty.
As partners, SAMU First Response and B-Thrifty proudly support Project B Green, a transformative initiative addressing climate change through an innovative in-kind donation and recycling program. This program goes beyond traditional donations by offering convenient at-home-pick-up services for gently used clothing, shoes, and household items. Interested donors can easily schedule a pick-up from the comfort of their home by submitting a form on the SAMU First Response website detailing what items they will be donating. After the form is submitted, Project B Green will then coordinate with the individual for the best time for pick. This process prevents these items from ending up in landfills and actively combating clothing waste.
SAMU benefits from these donations through each pick-up that is coordinated through our website. We are able to receive a monetary contribution based on the weight and amount of each donation, and with those funds we are able to support the daily influx of migrants coming through our doors via walk-ins and buses from Texas and Arizona. We can purchase new items, such as intimate wear (underwear, bras, and socks), that are most needed for individuals after they have spent days or even months making their way to Washington, D.C for a better life.
B-Thrifty also collects gently used clothing, shoes, and household items throughout the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland area through bins that are strategically placed in high traffic volume locations and shopping areas. With these bins, individuals can drop off gently used items to be later picked up by Project B Green. Four of these bins are placed throughout the area in and around Washington, D.C. with the SAMU First Response logo. With each bin that is on display each month, SAMU is able to receive a monetary donation to go towards serving our mission. This partnership is a mutually beneficial relationship as it helps each organization thrive by providing items for B-Thrifty to refurbish and re-use in their local store, as well as providing monetary donations that are most needed by SAMU in order to support every migrant that walks through our doors.
B-Thrifty has gone above and beyond in their mission to collaborate by also donating items to each of our respite centers in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County. In Washington, D.C. they were able to donate items in order to create a relaxation room, which is furnished with soft lighting, comfortable couches and chairs, a plush rug, and soothing photos hung on the walls. Each of these items were picked with care in order to provide a safe and relaxing space to those who have recently arrived from their journey to the United States. This relaxation room provides new mothers a space to be with their newborn babies, parents a moment to be together in silence, and a space for every individual to take a moment to relax, be still, and soak up a few minutes of silence to breathe again from their journey.
They have also generously dropped toys off for the children at our respite location in Montgomery County, in an effort to make sure that each child that passes through the door of our respite center can feel like a kid again. B-Thrifty has been a direct source of safety, care, and peace to our migrants. This is the power of collaboration and partnerships.
We look forward to our continued collaboration with B-Thrifty, as we both utilize the abundant resources in the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C. Together we are stronger, together we are unbroken, together we can do anything.
