Profiling Tepehua – August 2024

Tepehua Treasures, one of the many bazaars located along “thrift shop row” in Riberas, is one that is familiar to many of our readers. This all volunteer-run operation is the bread and butter for Tepehua Community Center, directly providing monies from all thrift shop sales to support education programs and scholarships, medical and dental services, maternal health clinics, a water distribution program, upkeep and maintenance on the facility itself, along with other day to day expenses. Our shop is vital to the support of the people who live on the hill above Chapala in the barrio known as Tepehua. For over a decade, the community center has made an enormous difference in the lives of the people there.

You might think this is just another run of the mill secondhand shop that supports a nonprofit organization: you drop off your gently used clothing, household goods, electronics, books, and whatever else you do not need anymore, and we display and resell them in our shop, using the monies for all of the programs listed above.

But we are so much more.

When items come into our shop, our volunteer crew decides what should be sold in the store and what should be passed on to a group or individual who has an immediate and specific need. For example:

-We set aside winter clothing for the Tarahumara people who live in the Copper Canyon area of northern Mexico where winters are cold.

-We are always on the lookout for men’s dress shirts, pants, shoes, and similar items to help outfit the young men at Mama Cleo’s Boys’ Home who might be employed at a local restaurant, have an interview, or are out looking for a job.

-Our community center has another bazaar up in Tepehua that serves the local people there. Clothing and household items not sold in Riberas are sent “up the hill” to be sold for reduced prices, or to be given to specific individuals in need. Baby and children’s items are also sent there. Local women are hired to manage this shop.

-Several folks who have connections with other nonprofits make regular visits to see what they can buy for their own specific projects. They are well known to us, and when we see them coming, we let them know what we have that could help them out.

In addition to spreading our wealth of donations around Lakeside, Tepehua Treasures also has clean water in garrafones de agua for sale (both 20- and 40-liter sizes), that comes from our own water program. You can get information about water subscriptions and delivery services there.

Tepehua Sewing Group has a large display of their amazing wares for sale on the shelves as you enter. This group has been sewing together for 12 years now and provides customers with quality sewn items, using quality fabrics.

Our sewing team also accepts custom orders and alterations. Friday is the best day for this, as a representative sewist is on site, but it’s fine to come other days and leave your items in the “sewing box” with a description of what is needed.

Our volunteers strive to be helpful and friendly. One of the things we all love so much about working there is talking with our customers. Friendships are formed in the shop, and many people often just stop in to say hello or to rest in one of our chairs for a chat. We also know many “collectors” by sight, and we steer them to new donations they may have an interest in.

We are grateful for every donation we receive. When you drop off your items at Tepehua, you are making a huge impact on the lives of many local people.