Doing Good: National conference attendees give back to Atlanta women


Information: narts.org

Dress for Success Atlanta, atlanta.dressforsuccess.org

Action Ministries, actionministries.net

While attending the annual National Association of Resale Professionals conference in Atlanta, hosted by the National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores, over 350 conference attendees helped launch the beginning of a giveback tradition for the national association.

After witnessing the positive impact that her small business has made through charitable donations, fundraising, and volunteering in the community, Bonnie Kallenberg was inspired to start a tradition within the NARTS organization in which business leaders could come together with the goal of making a positive impact in each conference city.

“When I learned the conference was coming to Atlanta, I thought it would be a great opportunity to launch a service project opportunity as part of the offerings for attendees,” said Bonnie Kallenberg, owner of Atlanta consignment chain Finders Keepers Inc and president of NARTS.

Volunteers took on two projects to empower women of Atlanta. The first project was in partnership with Dress for Success Atlanta, where resale professionals used clothing donations to create a “pop-up” store for the Dress for Success semi-annual sale that was held on July 2.

With Kallenberg’s longstanding relationship with Dress for Success Atlanta, it seemed fitting for NARTS to provide a day of service to the nonprofit that empowers women by providing professional attire and continuing with career development and ongoing support.

“Dress for Success Atlanta helps women gain the confidence and self-sufficiency they need to succeed,” said Sandy Johnson, director of DFS Atlanta. “We rely on the generosity of groups like NARTS as well as individuals through their time, talents and funds to deliver the much needed services to women and their children.”

Volunteers moved racks and boxes of merchandise to be sold into the sale area, set up a flow plan, organized and sized, priced hundreds of items and merchandised the sales floor so it would create for an easy shopping experience.

Additionally, NARTS’ members also created care packages out of donated handbags filled with toiletries and essentials in conjunction with Action Ministries Atlanta, who will distribute the handbags to homeless women in the Atlanta area.

With over 1,100 members, NARTS serves resale shops of all types by providing educational and professional development for future owners and current store owners/managers in the resale industry.

“As business leaders, we must seek out ways to help others succeed and use our talents and gifts in doing so,” added Kallenberg.

In other news: Camp Grace received a new grant from Aaron's Inc., valued at $10,000. The grant, which is a part of Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Scholarship Program will cover all necessary fees to send 30 of Georgia's underserved youths to the camp, located outside of Macon, Georgia. This is the inaugural year for Aaron's "Own Your Summer" Scholarship Program, which will provide 100 underserved youths from Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Tennessee with scholarships to attend overnight summer camps.