Sans Souci is gearing up to celebrate a milestone — it has been 40 years since it first opened its doors to help Bartholomew County residents.
“Our longevity shows that there is a need in the community,” said Sheryl Adams, Sans Souci executive director. “It’s amazing that we’ve been here this long when so many businesses don’t make it five years. But it takes community support, all of us, to move Sans Souci forward.”
Sans Souci, which means “without worry” in French, is a community thrift store that sells low-cost household items, books and clothing. The organization also supports more than 2,600 individuals in need each year by providing necessity items, including clothing, shoes, coats and furniture, for those who can’t afford them, according to statistics provided by the nonprofit.
Additionally, Sans Souci hires people who have struggled to get a job elsewhere due to personal barriers such as lack of transportation, criminal history, lack of education, mental and physical disabilities, among others. The non-profit helps its employees achieve self-sufficiency and get higher-paying jobs or higher education via coaching, training courses and other one-on-one assistance.
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Sans Souci will have a public open house at 3 p.m. on Thursday at its location at 1526 13th St. in Columbus, followed by the organization’s annual meeting at 5 p.m.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop will read a proclamation before the annual meeting, Adams said. The keynote speaker will be Greg Hauk, a former Sans Souci employee who later started a successful window tinting business in Shelbyville.
Sans Souci has come a long way since it opened 40 years ago, Adams said.
In 1979, the year Sans Souci was founded, the organization had one paid employee and would average around 15 customers per day, or approximately 5,500 per year, Adams said.
In 2018, the United Way agency had 55,402 paying customers, 17,761 drop-off donors and gave away $97,253 in clothing, shoes, winter coats and brand-new underwear and socks, according to data supplied by Courtney Foust, outreach supervisor at Sans Souci. Currently, Sans Souci averages around 30 paid employees per year.
Several former San Souci employees have gone on to become self-sufficient, said Adams, adding that Hauk, the keynote speaker at Thursday’s annual meeting, is an extraordinary example of a former Sans Souci employee who has turned his life around and become successful.
In 2010, Hauk was sentenced to 30 years in prison for dealing cocaine, according to court records. However, Hauk was released after seven years and seven months and participated in a community transition program.
Hauk said he struggled to find work after being released from prison until Sans Souci hired him. At Sans Souci, he worked as a receiver, which entailed bringing in donated items into the nonprofit’s facility and sorting them, Adams said.
“Basically, (Sans Souci) was my foundation,” Hauk said. “They gave me my self-esteem back. I got to transition from the incarceration life to normal life. I just felt like part of a family there. I can go on and on and on about what they’ve done.”
Sans Souci and United Way officials helped Hauk participate in the Individual Development Accounts Program, Adams said. The IDA program seeks to help low- and moderate-income Indiana residents meet financial goals through state and federal government matching incentives and financial education, according to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.
Individual development accounts are typically used for paying for education, purchasing a home, or in Hauk’s case, starting a business. Hauk received state and federal matching funds at a rate of $4 for every dollar he contributed to his IDA, Adams said.
Hauk was able to put $1,000 into his IDA account, and the state and federal government match was $4,000, bringing the total to $5,000, Adams said.
Hauk used the money to purchase a used 2007 Dodge Durango to start his mobile window tinting business, Greg Hauk Mobile Window Tint LLC, also known as Greg Hauk’s Window Tinting, according to filings with the Indiana Secretary of State.
Business has since boomed, with his company bringing in nearly $100,000 in sales last year, Hauk said.
Currently, Hauk also serves as a life coach and sponsor at two Shelbyville-area halfway houses, Grace House and the Odyssey House, he said.
“I had been in and out of the system and made a lot of poor choices,” Hauk said. “I wanted to better myself. Now I’m passing it down.”
Though Sans Souci is celebrating a milestone this week, Adams said she also is looking forward to the future.
Adams, who started working for San Souci as a cashier 24 years ago before working her way up to executive director, said she hopes to expand the number of employees the nonprofit can take on each year and increase the organization’s recycling operations. Within five years, she said she hopes to increase the average number of annual employees from 30 to 45.
In terms of recycling, Adams said Sans Souci currently bags up and sells donated recyclable items that don’t sell on the sales floor. In 2018, Sans Souci made $19,946 in recycling revenue.
“In five years, I’m hoping we recycle more than what we send to the landfill,” she said. “We recycle metal, textiles and cardboard, and we’re now getting into plastics. If it’s not sellable or usable, we want to make sure we’re recycling it to reduce what we’re sending to the landfill.”
Adams said she is optimistic about the nonprofit’s future and credits the nonprofit’s success over the past four decades to the support of the community.
“Sans Souci can’t do anything alone,” she said. “It takes a lot people in the community.”
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What: Sans Souci Open House and Anniversary Celebration
When: 3 p.m. Thursday followed by annual meeting at 5 p.m.
Where: Sans Souci, 1526 13th St.
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Sans Souci, which means "without worry" in French, is a community thrift store that sells low-cost household items, books and clothing. The organization also supports over 2,600 individuals in need each year by providing necessity items, including clothing, shoes, coats and furniture, for those who can’t afford them, according to statistics provided by the non-profit.
Additionally, Sans Souci hires people who have struggled to get a job elsewhere due to personal barriers such as lack of transportation, criminal history, lack of education, mental and physical disabilities, among others, according to the organization’s website. The non-profit helps its employees achieve self-sufficiency and higher-paying jobs or higher education via coaching, training courses and other one-on-one assistance.
For more information, visit sanssouci.org or call 812-372-3419.
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