About Us
Our Mission
The PROP Shop is a resale store and nonprofit serving the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis. The store is full of quality clothing, household items, and furniture for sale to the general public. The Family Service area helps local families with free clothing, household goods, and furniture. The PROP Shop has a small staff and more than 350 enthusiastic and helpful volunteers.
The PROP Shop’s mission is to provide basic support for families in need through volunteers, community, and other organizations.
Community members donate gently used clothing, household goods, and furniture which are either sold in the resale store or given directly to local families in need for free.
Everyone is welcome to shop! The resale store supports operations and enables the PROP Shop’s program services. Proceeds from the store are used to buy basic need items such as socks, underwear, blankets, sheets, and towels for families in need.
Families in Eden Prairie and Chanhassen may receive free clothing, household goods, and furniture. Please visit our Getting Help page if you or someone you know needs help.
The PROP Shop is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. FEIN: 72-1621252.
PROP Shop as Part of a Giving Community
The PROP Shop is proud to be part of the local community which works together to serve the needs of local families. More than 3,900 people have volunteered at the PROP Shop since we opened, and over 35,000 people have donated clothing, household goods, and furniture. Businesses and school classes/clubs have organized drives of needed items such as towels, mittens, and socks. Girl Scout Troops and Eagle Scout projects have provided us with landscaping, bookshelves, picnic benches, and more. This community has truly embraced what the PROP Shop is doing to help families in need.
Meanwhile, the PROP Shop works in partnership with organizations such as the City of Eden Prairie, the EP Community Foundation, Rotary Clubs, Lions, Lionesses, local schools, local churches, and many local businesses to support families in need. The PROP Shop sincerely thanks its partners in the local community who make its programs possible.
Our History
The creation of the PROP Shop was a direct result of rapidly changing community demographics. From 2000 to 2004, Eden Prairie experienced a 541% increase in food shelf usage according to Hunger Solutions Minnesota. These changes put increased pressure on People Reaching Out to People (PROP), the local food shelf and emergency services provider. With significant limitations on space and resources, PROP Food Shelf was unable to meet the growing need for clothing, household goods, and furniture.
Concerned community members decided to form a new and separate organization from the food shelf to provide more services to local families. They envisioned an organization with space to provide free clothing, household goods, and furniture to local families in need. They also pictured a resale store to provide funds for operating costs and programs, such as the purchase of new socks and underwear for families. The PROP Shop opened its doors to the community on April 11, 2007.
The PROP Shop saw a significant increase in the number of families needing help in 2008 and 2009 due to the economic crisis and now serves, on average, 300 to 350 families each month and over 750 families each year. Since the PROP Shop opened, more than 3,600 families have received clothing, household goods, and furniture conservatively valued at more than $4,500,000.
The PROP Shop’s programs deliver beds to families whose kids are sleeping on the floor and help people transitioning from homelessness to furnish their apartments. Clothes from the PROP Shop help individuals find jobs and attend school. Support from the local community has made these services to local families possible, and the PROP Shop thanks its donors, shoppers, volunteers, and partners.