Donation Do's and Don'ts

The Back Porch Thrift Store accepts gently used clothing, furniture, housewares, working electronics, books, records and many other items, which we sell through our store to raise funds to support our programs for those in need.  There are however, items which we cannot accept due to condition, lack of resale value, , size and weight.  Safety is also very important to us, so we encourage our donors to be aware of potential product safety hazards.  We also cannot accept items which have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  For questions about these items, please visit www.cpsc.gov for further information.  Whenever items are donated which we cannot use we must dispose of them, adding to our cost of operations and reducing the funds available for our programs.  Thank you for thinking of UCM and please check our donation guidelines located further down this page and our Information on Donations page.

Information For Our Donors

Please remember that not all thrift stores are affiliated with charities.  Some thrift stores are operated by for-profit businesses yet they solicit donations under the name of a charity.  In many of those instances, very little, if any of the money generated from those donations go to support a charity.  If your desire is to support a charity, ask these questions of where you are considering making your donation:

1.  Will your donation be used to support a charity you are interested in supporting?
2.  Does the chairty actually own and operate the store where you are donating?
3.  What percentage of the store revenue support the mission of the charity?

The Back Porch Thrift Store is fully owned and operated by UCM.  And 100% of the revenues from the Back Porch are used in support of services and programs to clients within the Mt. Vernon community.  For information about our agency please click here.

Do's and Don'ts of Donating to the Back Porch Thrift Store

A few things we hope you will keep in mind when donating your goods to the Back PorchThrift Store:

Do's
1. Wash or dry clean clothing before donating.
2. Make certain electrical equipment, appliances and battery operated items are working properly.
3. Make certain all pieces of games, puzzles and other items are included.

Don'ts
1.  Do not donate furniture, mattresses and box springs or clothing with stains, tears or pet hair.
2.  Do not donate items that are broken.
3.  Do not give items that have been or are subject to recall, banned or that do not meet safety standards.
     For further information visit the website for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
4.  Please do not bring donated items to the UCM Main Office located on Fordson Road.  All donation dropoffs
     should be at the Back Porch Thrift Store only.
5.  Please do not leave donations in the back alley behind the Back PorchThrift Store on non-donation days.