When life hands you sour grapes, make Purple Lemonade!
Mission Statement:
To demonstrate Christ’s love by helping others who have need while protecting our environment by repurposing items no longer needed or wanted.
Mission Scripture:
Matthew 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”
Goals:
Share the word of God as often as possible.
Demonstrate the love of God through service and acts of kindness.
Encourage “gift” recipients to share God’s love and Word as they serve others through acts of kindness.
Provide scripture cards with encouragement to each recipient.
Provide each gift recipient the opportunity to pray with an associate of Purple Lemonade.
Nurture the dignity and happiness of all recipients.
Provide a hand up to those in need without judgment of their need and/or reasons for need.
Protect the earth and our environment by rescuing and repurposing items no longer wanted or needed that would be taken to a landfill.
Organization Purpose:
Help provide items others need to sustain life, make life easier, and/or help their lives be happier and less stressful.
Provide needed item(s) at no cost to recipient.
Provide needed items without requirements for proof of need. Recipients only need to ask for what they would hope to have help with. Needs are met on a first come, first served basis as items become available.
Serve and provide for others without judgmental attitudes while demonstrating the love of Christ.
Help people who have a need or desire they are unable to obtain due to lack of resources and/or inability to qualify for public assistance programs.
Reduce landfill burdens by rescuing and repurposing items that are being thrown away.
Sell items that are not needed in order to provide funds to aide those who have financial need and/or aide in the operation of Purple Lemonade.
Background Information:
Purple Lemonade was the inspiration of a young wife and mother in answer to prayers of how she could serve the Lord. As a young bride, Heather was transplanted into the Bryan/College Station, Texas area so that her husband, Trey, could attend graduate school at A&M University. As Heather settled into her nursing career and looked for ways to support Trey as he worked toward his doctorate in Physics, she prayed for God to show her a way to serve Him and become involved in His mission work. One day during that first Spring she was in the area, Heather noticed dumpsters in neighborhoods and apartment parking lots overflowing with things that students and others were throwing away as they prepared to move from their current residence or from the city. With a heavy heart Heather observed the frequency that “Jaws”, the trash truck, went from neighborhood to neighborhood munching up items that could still be useful. Heather frequently gathered items that could be repurposed and took them to local missions and other organizations. Sometimes Heather would take the items home and store them in her garage until she could personally find them a new home.
By midsummer, Heather asked for help from family members. The abundant items being thrown away were simply too numerous for Heather and Trey to continue harvesting and gifting without a little help. Extra hands made the process much easier and provided the opportunity to clean and/or repair electrical and other items prior to repurposing. With great joy and happiness Heather and her helpers saw the mission grow. As the next “move out” season came, the Purple Lemonade workers came more prepared with a trailer, gloves, water bottles, and food. Heather’s garage overflowed and the yard filled with items to be “gifted”. Items that were not needed in the area were dispersed to fill needs in North Texas and West Texas. Items that no one seemed to need at all were taken to West Texas to be sold. Second Hand Rose owner, Dana, blessed Purple Lemonade with a place to sell items so that funds could be raised to gift those who might need a financial blessing or to help provide items needed to keep the Lemonaders going, such as gloves and bottles of water.
A highlight in the early days of Purple Lemonade came at the end of a long, hot August day when Heather and her Lemonaders went from one non-profit organization to another attempting to donate furniture that had been rescued that day. With disappointment, everyone returned to Heather and Trey’s home with a trailer load of furniture and other items that were unacceptable to the local non-profit and mission organizations. Unknown to Heather, these organizations would not accept blemished or worn furniture or other items that showed very much use. Praying for a home for the trailer load of items, Heather looked down the street and remembered her neighbors who had relatives living with them because their home had burned. With great hope Heather and Trey went to their neighbor’s house and asked to speak to the homeless family. As it turned out, every item in the trailer was needed by the young family who had lost everything. Heather and Trey found renewed energy as they helped the needy family store the items in a storage unit to wait for the time when they would move into a home of their own. All the Purple Lemonade workers were delighted to see a struggling family seem a little happier as they saw new hope to start over after their devastating losses.
During dinner that same evening, everyone shared stories of treasures found that would be helpful to others as well as reactions of bystanders as they watched the Lemonaders gather items. Another delight of the long day was helping a young student and her mother who were struggling to move everything out of an apartment. The move was at a standstill because a sleeper sofa was much too heavy for them to move alone. The apartment that would be the new residence did not have enough room to house many items and they had no way to haul them. As mother and daughter watched the Lemonaders at work, they carefully approached them and asked what they were doing. As it turned out, the Purple Lemonade workers were a blessing to the student and her weary mother. With a large deposit at risk if all personal items were not removed from the apartment that day, the ladies asked if the Lemonaders would be interested in a donation of the remaining items in the apartment, including the very large, heavy sofa. What a deal, everyone was happy. Purple Lemonade could rescue many boxed and ready to go items from the apartment, and the student could keep her much needed deposit! As it turned out, several items that were “gifted” to the family who had suffered home loss due to fire were items that had been donated from the apartment move.
With beds and desks to North Texas, bathroom rugs, lamps and other items to West Texas; many, many repurposed items in the Bryan/College Station area, another Purple Lemonade had come to a close. Heather and her Lemonaders had witnessed growth in all areas of the mission and they began looking forward to future seasons of serving others.
Mission Needs:
Prayer for the mission to continue to grow in ways that best demonstrate Christ’s love and service to others.
Prayer for the safety of the Purple Lemonade workers.
Prayer, by name, for each gift recipient to see that Christ is providing the gift and for each recipient to seek and be blessed with lives in harmony and with love of Christ.
A rent/lease free building, vacant home, warehouse, or other facility to be used to store, clean, repair, and disperse collected items.
Resources to make/purchase business cards to provide scripture to gift recipients.
Resources to make flyers used to spread news about the mission.
Resources to help with other mission expenditures such as utilities in the donated work area, fuel costs for Purple Lemonade collection vehicle, water bottles.
Storage tubs, moving boxes or other containers to place in dorms and near dumpsters for donated items.
Food and snacks for workers so that time is not lost to food preparation during the collection season.
