Katie Thompson Donor

There’s a small degree of separation when it comes to the Quad Cities and the number of people touched by Family Resources. That’s how Katie Thompson looked at it when she first started envisioning ways she could give back to the organization as she opened her Moline business earlier this year.

“Things come full circle,” said Thompson, the owner of The Market. “I worked in the nonprofit world for 10 years and after I left, I kept hearing from people about how Family Resources had helped their lives. I even had a friend who said Family Resources saved her life.”

It was inspiration enough for Thompson to organize a collection drive at her store that encouraged customers to donate items for youth who visited the hospital following trauma. The idea originally came from a friend who had done the same thing among their circle of friends. “She just went absolutely wild with the project,” Thompson said.

The Market has been open less than one year and Thompson set a goal to give back $20,000 to the community through four local nonprofits by the end of the first year. Family Resources is one of the organizations she selected. Customers who donate items to the drive receive discounts in the store. Vendors who sell at The Market were also more than willing to provide discounts on their goods. “It’s really a joint effort,” Thompson said.

In the spring, The Market will host a fashion show featuring models who are survivors of trauma and the proceeds from the event will go to the organization. “I want to bring awareness to what Family Resources has to offer, and to really create a community that is financially invested in helping them,” she said. “You could be talking to someone who has been helped by Family Resources and not even know it.”

Thompson said she knows firsthand the incredible effort that goes into fundraising for local nonprofits. “It can be exhausting,” she said, which makes it even more imperative for the community to step up and advocate for them.

She also remembers the responsibility of the work. “Nonprofit work is really heavy work, and you see a lot of really hard things,” she said. “But we can also add joy. With the fashion show, there will be some hard moments because we’ll be learning about what they’ve been through, but we’re really celebrating their story and their outcome. By walking in the show, they’re demonstrating you can keep walking forward.”

In the meantime, Thompson encouraged the community to give to Family Resources this holiday season. “A donation to the organization in any amount is truly transformative. I’m proud to support their mission, and I hope others will join me.”