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BY BILL RADFORD
THE GAZETTE
Mike Mazzola watched TV news reports of the suffering of soldiers upon their return from Iraq and Afghanistan — and of the suffering of families when soldiers did not return — and was touched.
So when Mazzola, an outdoor enthusiast, decided to open a consignment shop selling outdoor gear, he combined his new business with a nonprofit mission — a mission that is expanding as the business enters a second year.
Mazzola opened Mountain Equipment Recyclers at 1005 S. Tejon St. at the start of 2011 after operating in a temporary location for a few months.
He set a goal of raising at least $10,000 in the first year, split among three nonprofit partners — AspenPointe, which helps veterans and their families through its Peer Navigator program; The Home Front Cares, which supports families of deployed soldiers; and LifeQuest Transitions, which helps soldiers and veterans relearn life skills through cognitive exercises and adventure sports.
Mazzola exceeded his goal, raising $11,941 for the three groups through fundraisers and store policies: Five percent of sales of consigned gear and 50 percent of sales of donated gear go to the nonprofits.
“The community has been awesome,” Mazzola said. “Obviously, people who care about the military are more excited about it, but in general people love that we are giving back. … People come in every day and thank us for what we are doing.”
As for business overall, “we’re paying the bills,” he said. He and his wife operate the store, but he’s looking to hire part-time help so he can spend more time in the community networking and “really branding and marketing ourselves so people understand we’re not just a regular retail store.”
For 2012, Mazzola has beefed up his fundraising goal to $25,000. And he has a new trio of military-related nonprofit partners.
“Throughout the year, we met a lot of new organizations, so we had the idea to rotate three new ones in every 12 months,” he said. “There are so many great organizations out there.”
The new partners are Thanks Troops, which provides recreational opportunities to ease the transition back to civilian life; Project Sanctuary, which provides “therapeutic, curative, supportive and recreational activities” to veterans, active military and their families; and Phoenix Multisport, which offers a supportive, physically active community for soldiers and others recovering from alcohol and substance abuse.
“Just like last year, these three new ones each do a little something different,” Mazzola said.
The business is also venturing beyond military partners. In October, Mountain Equipment Recyclers launched a partnership with the Trails and Open Space Coalition; people who donate equipment can designate that 50 percent of the sales go to that group instead of one of the military nonprofits.
PHOTO: Mike Mazzola, left, helps customer Vince Scarsbrook shop for a snowboard at Mountain Equipment Recyclers on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. The outdoor consignment store opened in January 2011 and raised $11, 941 for nonprofits its first year through donated consignments and the store's 5 percent contribution from sales. Christian Murdock, The Gazette
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