Photo By Cpl. Thomas Sheng | Jeahn Creviston, left, president of Marine Thrift Shop, Okinawa, and Kinkyo Hiroshi,...... read more read more
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NAHA CITY, OKINAWA, Japan – The staff of Marine Thrift Shop Okinawa presented $10,000 to representatives of Lions Clubs International at the Okinawa Harborview Hotel in Naha City, Okinawa, Japan, Feb. 22, 2024. This donation set a precedent and was the first time that a donation was directly given to a local national organization by the Marine Thrift Shop.
To support the local Japanese community, the Marine Thrift Shop donated this money through LCI as a conduit to support funding for local Japanese children with medical and special educational needs. LCI will use the donation accordingly to help the surrounding local Okinawa community.
LCI is a service organization that supports the serving of communities around the world. With a total of 48,000 clubs and 1.4 million members, LCI uses humanitarian service projects and grants to impact people’s lives.
“Typically, the American Welfare and Works Association is the one deciding which organization can receive the grants,” said Jeahn Creviston, a native of Kansas and president of Marine Thrift Shop Okinawa. “With the help of the G-7 branch, this is the first time we were able to identify an organization and make the donation directly without the involvement of the AWWA.”
The Marine Thrift Shop belongs to the AWWA, along with the Kadena Officers Spouses Club, Naval Officers’ Spouses Club of Okinawa, Marine Gift Shop, the Okinawa Enlisted Spouses’ Club, and more. The AWWA is responsible for the distribution of charitable funds for organizations to improve the quality of life for Japanese and American communities in Okinawa.
The Marine Thrift Shop procured this money through regular store operations and regularly provides grants for other organizations including the Neighborhood Pantry, Foster Single Marine Program, Foster Commissary, and the Foster USO.
From April of 2023, Marine Thrift Shop Okinawa staff members began the process of finding which organization to donate the money to. LCI was ultimately decided on because of their long-term commitment and the alignment of goals.
According to Creviston, staff members decided on this specific organization due to the strong conviction they felt towards the foundations it supports. LCI will help the Marine Thrift Shop meet their goals by using the donation towards a new hospital and also contribute money to the Cancer Children's Parents Association.
The Marine Thrift Shop makes environmental and geopolitical impacts through their store operations and donations. Their intake of items reduces waste by offering items that other service members might not need. They also use their network to help funding for different programs that benefit service members and the local community.
In the year of 2023, Marine Thrift Shop Okinawa provided American and Japanese recipients with over $126,000.
The Marine Thrift Shop contributed to 38% of all AWWA contributions and $32,606 was given to the local Japanese community. $12,000 in scholarships were awarded to active-duty service members, Status of Forces Agreement Personnel, and their dependents. $3,000 were given to the SMP to fund their battle site tours.
$13,000 was issued to Parent Teacher Organization starter funds to all Department of Defense Education Activity Okinawa Schools. $350 in diapers and wipes will be going to families to support their children at the Ashibina Child Development Center.
On top of all the contributions made, the Marine Thrift Shop continues to look for new ways to help the community and listen to customer demands.
“Last year we did a few northern camp donation pickups because not everyone can come down to Camp Foster,” said Ashley Rennie, a native of Vermont and operations officer of Marine Thrift Shop Okinawa. “We plan to make these donation windows open once or twice every month.”
To accommodate families that are unable to make the trip down to Camp Foster, the Marine Thrift Shop has enlisted the help of moving trucks to bring donations in from Camps Courtney and McTureous.
Most notably however, the Marine Thrift Shop provides base personnel with volunteer opportunities.
“Volunteers are awarded a letter of appreciation after five hours of volunteering, and they can receive a gift certificate for every 10 hours of volunteer work,” said Rennie. “Service members can also get five free uniform items from the store every month.”
The Marine Thrift Shop is always looking for ways to support the needs of the communities around them. Whether it is directly giving funding to the source or finding avenues through organizations, they will continue to diversify the way they contribute to community welfare.
“The number one thing that people don’t understand is that we are more than just a thrift shop, we’re a pillar of the community,” said Creviston. “We are not funding for fun; we are strategic, and we are trying to make a difference.”
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2024 06:59 |
| Story ID: | 465683 |
| Location: | NAHA CITY, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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