House Manager Report
January 10, 2019



Client Statistics – We served 175 households in December:  257 adults and 240 children for a total of 497 people.  56 were new clients.  We averaged 12 clients per day in December.  We were only open 15 days in December.

For the year 2018, we filled out 2,827 intake forms.  So we averaged serving 235 families every month.  787 of the clients were new (about 28%).  37% of clients were from Ann Arbor, 54% were from Ypsilanti, 9% from other areas – mostly Washtenaw County.  70% of the adult shoppers are women. 51% of clients are black, 32% are white, 9% are middle eastern, The remaining 8% are Hispanic, Asian, or “other.”

Saturdays – On Saturday, January 5th, we had 3 clients.  We had a good number of volunteers and got a lot of sorting done. 


Volunteers – We have 2 new volunteers.  We had 2 more that said they were interested in volunteering. They haven’t started yet.  One of our volunteers purchased about $300 worth of underwear and socks from Sears (very much reduced in price) – using the money we got from the raffle at our October Gala. 


Donation Status –
The first days of January have been overwhelming with donations.  We think people are following up on New Year’s resolutions to clean out their homes.  One donor had purchased new twin sheets.  In her family, instead of exchanging gifts, each person gave one other person the charitable organization of their choice.  This woman received House by the Side of the Road.  She looked up our website and discovered one of our needs was twin sheets, so she went and purchased new sheets!  Another donor brought in 2 laptop computers in good condition.  She read the House Manager report on our website where I had mentioned the need for a grant for 2 computers and decided she could get rid of these 2 laptops!

What we need (no changes from last month):

Pots and pans
Twin size sheets, full size sheets
Blankets of all sizes
Small appliances
Backpacks/suitcases
Plus size women’s clothes
Children’s clothes for boys – sizes 6-8.

Business/Community Contacts –
Cherry Republic completed their drive for winter coats, hats, & gloves.  Their donation was well received.
3 students from the University of Michigan are members of the BOND organization.  They are interested in working with us this coming semester on how to implement our vision for the future.  I have given them a tour of our facility, talked about our upcoming planning meeting, and they will get back with us next week if we are approved as an organization to work with.
Todd Lands from Reinhart Realty donated 8 racks he purchased from Sears (as they were going out of business).  Reinhart Realty, via Todd Lands, also donated many winter coats, as they do every year, to the House.

Community Outreach –
On Friday, January 11th, I have a meeting with the Director of DAPCO (Destiny and Purpose Community Outreach) of Ypsilanti.
I have a meeting with Sarah Thornburg, the Executive Director of Friends in Deed, on January 14th to further our discussion on how the 2 organizations can collaborate more effectively.  I had the date wrong in last month’s report.
On February 11th, we will have a table along with other non-profits at the Scott Westerman Pre-school and Family Center on Boardwalk.

Facility Status –
We keep the back hallway very, very clear. But it has become more of a challenge with the amount of donations we are receiving.
I don’t have any feedback on the awning. 
We still need to have the carpet cleaned on both sides of the building.
No progress on signage for the back door. 
No progress on the bathroom upgrade.

Safety Issues –
Our first aid kit is “up-to-date”.  We have decided to keep it on the window sill in the lunch room.  It is quite visible.
No known issues.

Areas that need attention –

Documenting procedures – A group of 3 volunteers will work on updating the check-in and checkout procedures
Training new volunteers
Managing our overflow of donations

Client Stories – No stories this month that have been shared with me.


Overall Appearance and Organization – The shopping area looks great.  Our storage and sorting areas need attention.


Computer plans – We are still waiting for the installation of software to help speed up client check-in and checkout.  At least we have the computers we need.  I will be meeting with the computer software person next week to discuss the status.


Issues –
Language barriers – There is still room for improvement here.  That was one of the concerns brought up at the volunteer meeting.
Donation overflow (see above)
Getting even more volunteers

Submitted by,

Mary Danforth, House Manager