Rethreaded is an organization that strives to uplift its employees, restore choice in the lives of survivors, and strengthen the community through a shared mission. Our organization would not be able to provide resources and meaningful work to survivors without our community taking time out of their week to volunteer at our campus. When our volunteers shop in our store, connect with the stories of survivors, and contribute to prepping the materials for our production department, it allows for the mission of Rethreaded to be carried out by a new set of hands. It is our hope that these sets of hands will go out into the community and share our mission with the world.

While many people assume spending a few hours at our Campus of Hope wouldn’t be very impactful, it is actually one of the best ways people can support our organization. Many volunteers aren’t as familiar with the reality of trafficking in their city and through the few hours they spend at our Campus of Hope they completely change their perspective. They hear the truth about trafficking and get to walk alongside staff, connecting with the journey that many of the survivors of our organization have faced. After spending one afternoon here, one-time volunteers can turn their spark of compassion into a lifetime of dedication to restoring choice for survivors of human trafficking.

A Typical Day

The volunteer experience starts in the retail department of the campus. One of our knowledgeable staff members will answer questions, get everyone signed in, and explain the mission of the company. Following this introduction, the volunteer groups take a seat in the training room and are given a handout on the barriers that women face when they leave trafficking. While looking over the sheet, our tour leader will lead an informational talk about trafficking, go over the statistics, and dispel the myths that are thrown around in the media.

After leaving the store with a sample of our delicious toffee to-go, the tour leader will explain the importance of Rethreaded’s mural at the front of the campus. The mural was a legacy project for former first lady Molly Curry, who felt emboldened to show her support for anti-trafficking awareness. Reclaiming the Light: A Survivor’s Journey, was co-created by mosaic art team RouxArt and muralist Nico to show the story behind a woman leaving trafficking. Volunteers are encouraged to touch various parts of the mosaic and get group pictures taken in front of the artwork. Continuing through the story of the mural brings the volunteers to the serenity garden entrance. Each step further into the garden shows a new brick engraved with inspirational quotes and the names of supporters; each generously donated to show that the path forward is aided by the community.

While one staff member leads the tour, another lays out leather seats kindly donated from organizations like Southwest Airlines and Skypak. At each station, volunteers will have their own piece of leather and a seam ripper. After taking their spot at the table, volunteers will remove all the seams and threads from the seat until the leather is fully bare. When the volunteer has finished and had their work checked by a staff member, they will sort it by size and grab a new piece. This helps our textile production team by prepping their raw materials so that they can focus on shaping the leather into one of our many upcycled products like our Pocket Journal, Leather Rivet Tab Earrings, and On The Go Purse.

“No one of us could do this alone. Whether it’s the people inside, Kristin [Keen] couldn’t do it alone, the volunteers couldn’t do our job alone. It takes everyone working together, doing our part.” -Regular Rethreaded Volunteer

Once the time allotted for the volunteers to prep the leather has ended, everyone is welcome to browse the retail store and go back for anything that caught their eye during the tour.

Community Impacts

We encourage organizations to choose us when thinking of non-profits to give their time and support to. Many businesses come throughout the year in larger groups such as CSX, Everbank, Bank of America, and Florida Blue. We are always looking to host new organizations and welcome them into our community.

If you want to volunteer but aren’t a part of an organization, you can always sign up for Volunteer Thursdays. Organizations or groups larger than 10 can volunteer on the Rethreaded campus Wednesdays or Fridays depending on their preferences and our scheduling. Thursdays are the one day of the week that a person not associated with a company or a small group can happily join along on our tours and help with leather deconstruction. There are 20 open spots available every week, which can quickly fill up. If you have a week you’re looking to volunteer, make sure to secure your spot in advance.

As we have hosted individual volunteer opportunities for many years, several individuals have continually dedicated their Thursdays to our organization. Over time, regular participants have formed a community within volunteering and now look out for each other every Thursday. They save seats at the table for one another, give tips to newcomers, and display the compassion that is at the heart of our mission. Our regular volunteers boast about their passion for supporting us and are always friendly faces to our staff. If you’ve been hesitant to volunteer alone, they will happily welcome any guest looking for someone to talk to as they begin another week of skillfully pulling out threads.

“It’s a relaxing, fun activity, but also knowing that we’re helping an organization that is doing some good, needed work, and helping individuals. Not some, I don’t know, amorphous, nebulous cause, but real people.” -Regular Rethreaded Volunteer

By pouring out time, money, and compassion into the community, volunteers continue to show how generosity can create impactful change. Volunteers who have shown up every Thursday for years and volunteers who are being introduced to Rethreaded for the first time are displaying the power of a collective purpose.