Christian Outreach Center of Baton Rouge

Our thrift stores (the purple cow - thrifted living) provide the very best, gently-used items (clothing, housewares, home decor, accessories, shoes, books, furniture, school uniforms, etc.) At prices up to 80% off retail. This provides an essential service to low income families. In addition, we regularly provide a number of clothing vouchers for the homeless, both directly and via client referrals from our various partners. We also donate gift cards to our various nonprofit partners to give to their clients. We currently operate three thrift stores in Baton Rouge with the goal of opening more stores and creating workforce training opportunities.

Grocery assistance program - distribute fresh meat, produce, and other essential food staples to food insecure households in poverty-stricken areas around Baton Rouge. This is a partnership with the greater Baton Rouge food bank and is part of the usda's emergency food assistance program. The items are delivered to 'hubs' where they are then distributed via food delivery service to recipient households. The recipients are then invited to take our job readiness and financial education classes with the goal of improving their employment and financial situation.

Essential and sustainabilty services for the homeless: we provide basic "triage" services for the homeless, such as: food bags, hygiene kits, clothing, bus tickets, id's, birth certificates, assistance with utilities and housing. We provide these services over 1,000 times a month for our clients. Referrals are received from various organizations in the downtown Baton Rouge area. Sustainability services are also provided and include job readiness training, job search assistance, and employee case management. Classes focus on those experiencing homelessness and living in poverty, and those in the alice population. There is a prison reentry pilot called 'handup' that focuses on returning citizens with a moderate to high risk of recidivism.