Blog

Challenge

New facilities often present a valuable opportunity to rethink and redesign organizational workflows to better support a company’s mission.

This was true for the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition in St. Louis, Missouri. This non-profit is dedicated to creating permanency in the lives of children impacted by foster care by recruiting and supporting foster and adoptive families in the St. Louis area.

When Warehouse of Fixtures referred this non-profit to us, Foster & Adoptive was in the process of moving their operations to a new facility three times the size of their original place, and recognized that they would need a new storage system to help with efficiency. As children and families in the program can visit the organization to receive support, select a new wardrobe, and more, this team was looking for a thoughtful and efficient way to store a variety of items.

Part of the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition includes their thrift store, ReFresh. ReFresh is a thrift store open to the public, and children in foster care are able to shop here twice a month. All donations and proceeds from ReFresh go to children affected by foster care.

To support the ReFresh store, this organization was in need of a flexible and custom system to hold pallets of clothing, heavy duty tables to fold clothes on, and storage to accommodate an assortment of boxes and supplies used frequently. Additionally, the Foster & Adoptive team wanted to transform their resource room into a functional space where items could be stored and hung for easy access.

With these requests in mind, we got to work, designing a custom solution to allow Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition to continue to advance their mission and support children throughout our community.

Solution

To kick this project off, Tom from ISS began with a comprehensive site visit. By evaluating the layout, workflow, and available space, we were able to identify opportunities for efficient storage solutions. From there, we collaborated with the project’s architect to recommend a strategic mix of products tailored to this non-profit’s unique needs.

Working side by side with Foster & Adoptive, we reviewed the space and identified the exact capacities, elevations, and configurations for each storage unit. The team also selected the colors for the solutions, a bright orange and clean white laminate tops (one of more than 20 Rousseau standard color options), that matched their brand to create a seamless and welcoming look throughout their new facility.

To keep this busy organization on schedule and minimize disruption to their facility, we pre-assembled all the materials at our warehouse, ensuring the installation at the new facility would be quick and smooth.

All donations for ReFresh are supported by the community, so when donations come in, they need to be sorted before they can go to the floor. To accomplish this, we worked with Rousseau to design custom workstations where clothes can be laid out, and hung on hangers via one of the three bars. Once sorted, they can easily roll these clothes to the floor as the workstations feature wheels that can be locked and unlocked. “It makes it very efficient to get the products to the floor,” says Melissa Bailey, Director of ReFresh.

To accommodate various boxes and pallets of donated clothing that this organization receives, a durable pallet racking system was needed. This not only allows for inventory to stay organized but ensures that new donations are easily accessible for the team and volunteers. “In the backroom we provided some pallet racking, which houses over 17,000 pieces of clothes” says Tom. With this storage solution, they are able to support a larger capacity of clothing.

In order to be able to load and unload items safely from the pallet rack, this team needed a walk behind stacker. This powered lift stacker allows them to store heavy items without compromising their team’s safety.

For smaller items and other donations that needed to remain within reach, we installed Rousseau spider shelving, known for its strength and durability. These were also designed in their brand colors to match the workstations that they live next to. Spider shelving allows for items in facilities to stay neat and organized with high visibility to ensure items can be found easily.

For their resource room, the team envisioned a multifunctional space filled with custom cabinetry and slat wall with metal inserts. This custom-made cabinetry allows for items to be stored away safely and neatly, keeping their space filled with storage options. The slat walls were also continued out to the floor to be able to hold hundreds of shoes in their retail store.

With all the new storage solutions, this facility came together to create a seamless workflow. “Because of this, we’re able to service over 3,000 kids a year,” says Melissa when referring to the new solutions.

Results

Open the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition video on YouTube

The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition now has a fully equipped facility with a storage solution designed to strengthen and support their mission for years to come. With a larger space and the storage to support it, they can continue to serve their community.

“We went from a small store to a space three times bigger than what we had, and these shelves and custom-built workstations help us to put out about 5 times more product than we used to have. Just alone, with these items that they provided us, we were able to almost double our profits in just one month” says Melissa.

ISS was able to assist throughout the entire project process. “We were able to help them through the design to pulling permits through installing it,” says Tom. Our goal was to create as little stress for them as possible as we know moving facilities has a lot of moving parts.

“ISS has gone out of their way to own everything in the project, to really be there, to be available to take the calls and to be clear whether it was the contract management piece or the installation,” says Andrew Berhorst, Chief Financial Officer of Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition.

Since we know that non-profits grow and adapt over time, we were able to recommend a storage solution that can adapt in the future. The system that they have in place is modular and easy to expand, allowing shelves to be repositioned or reconfigured in the future. “We’ve been able to do quite a bit of work here whether it was customized shelving, industrial racking, connections through you (ISS) on some very intimate finish work that was really a critical part of making kids that come into care in the communities here feel even better” says Andrew.

ISS is proud to have played a role in helping this organization have their new facility come to life. With an efficient new setup, Foster & Adoptive is set to keep growing and serving the community.

Enhance Your Storage Solution

If you are relocating or looking to enhance your current storage solution, reach out to ISS. Our team will support you from design to installation, ensuring you make the most of your space. Let us know how we can help here, or talk to a storage specialist at 1-800-875-6201.

Learn how you can get involved with Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition here.