Pictures of animals, cars and princesses are decorated with messy crayon lines and stickers. The bottom of one bears the caption “To Juan” in scribbly handwriting. More than a dozen of the handmade creations are taped to the wall behind the cash register of the El Mercado Thrift Store, and the store manager, Juan Cordero, beams at them proudly.
“I love getting to see so many kids in this ministry grow up,” Cordero said as he looked at his collection. “Some of them I’ve known since they were in second or third grade and are in college now. When they make me a drawing, I always hang it up.”
One of several programs for Neighborhood Ministries, El Mercado Thrift Store is located on Van Buren Street between 19th and 20th avenues in central Phoenix. The ministry, founded in 1982, is dedicated to serving the low-income families in the downtown area by providing support groups, food and clothing drives, Bible studies, church services and more.
The thrift shop opened four years ago and was designed to provide the community with necessities at a much lower price.
“The purpose of the El Mercado Thrift store is to help our families,” Cordero said.
The store contains items such as clothing, furniture, toys and books donated by individuals and churches around the Valley. Cordero said that typically he will take the item’s store value and cut it in half to make it more affordable.
In addition, community members working there can earn anywhere from $8 to $25 per hour or gain store credit to use for purchases. This program is helpful for parents, as it allows them to give their kids presents they would otherwise be unable to afford.
Coderno said that this is especially true during the Christmas season, when the store is at its busiest and is stocked full of new toys.
“It makes them feel better that they are the ones being able to work for their child’s gift, not just someone else giving it to them,” he said. “It empowers them because they get to work for it and buy it.”
Maria Diaz, an employee of El Mercado, prices the items, stocks the store, and even creates Barbie dresses and flowers by hand. Diaz said before she came to Neighborhood Ministries, she was depressed and spent most of her time at home alone.
After coming to the ministry’s health clinic for a discount on her insulin, doctors recommended that she volunteer at the shop to stay busy.
“I now feel like I have my energy and my will to live back,” Diaz said. “I love seeing everyone and meeting people. Now, I don’t even like to work alone.”
Diaz said she spends a portion of her store credit on supplies for her neighbors and gifts for the friends she has made during her 10 months of working there. In addition to El Mercado, Diaz also volunteers for Head Start.
“Helping other people makes me feel good. Being around everyone here has improved my health and my quality of life,” Diaz said.
Marcos Marquez is now an employee at Neighborhood Ministries’ T-shirt shop, but said he had a “rocky path” before then. Although he was involved with the Neighborhood Ministries as a kid, he drifted from it when he was a teenager by getting involved with crime on the streets. Marquez said he became really involved with the gang scene by selling drugs and participating in violent crimes.
“I became exhausted with it, and knew that I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore,” said Marquez.
When Marquez was released from prison, he came back to visit and soon felt compelled to get involved with Neighborhood Ministries again. He started volunteering, and that summer had an internship on staff.
After he was baptized, he said that his life began to change in ways he had never expected. He was the first part-time employee of the T-shirt shop, which creates shirts for local businesses and high schools. Marquez also taught a sixth-grade boys’ group Bible study before he become busy with other commitments.
“I have a true happiness in what I do now,” said Marquez. “This church and community is all about showing God’s love, and I am proud to call it my home.”
Salena Resendez immediately found that love when she and her family started attending Neighborhood Ministries church. Resendez had a difficult life prior to becoming involved. She . But six years ago, her husband Alex wanted to turn his life around, so their family started attending church.
Resendez, who became a mother at 15 with only an eighth-grade education, said she was often neglected in the single-parent home where she grew up. Neighborhood Ministries has given her a new sense of love and community she never had, she said.
“Here, there are people who care about me, and love me and my family a lot. They taught me that I could pursue a relationship with God, which I never thought about before,” Resendez said.
Now, Resendez’s family is actively involved with Neighborhood Ministries. Her children attend Kid’s Night, a worship and activity program every Wednesday, and she and her husband work part-time at the T-shirt shop doing office work and printing the shirts. Resendez also acquired her GED in only a month and a half, despite having been out of school for years.
Cordero said helping other people rebuild their life is exactly what Neighborhood Ministries focuses on — targeting not just a person’s personal life, but his or her spiritual life as well.
“We try to offer people unconditional love and support,” Cordero said. “People may not be perfect, but we love them anyway.”
Contact the reporter at lauren.l.clark@asu.edu
