Spring Cleaning
Ryan Stillwater, Director of Development, Visalia Rescue Mission
 
Spring is in swing and so is your desire to purge your closets, garage, shed, storage unit and more. Fortunately, there are great options right here in Visalia who want your unwanted items.
Here's the shortlist:
 
Visalia Rescue Mission (VRM)
To effectively advance our various ministries, our Thrift department turns your unwanted items into rescued treasures, which are sold in one of our three stores, online, or recycled. Residents in our Life Change Academy gain crucial work experience in this department to prepare them for employment post-graduation, including employment or apprenticeships with VRM.
Primary donation locations:
  • Rescued Treasures: 2523 S. Mooney Blvd, Visalia (donations accepted M-Sa, 9:00am-6:00pm)
  • VRM Donation Center: 500 E. Race Ave., Visalia (donations accepted M-F, 8:00am-4:00pm
  • To donate a vehicle, call their Mission Motors line at 429-8777
Call 733-3180 to schedule a pick-up (M-F) or schedule online at: vrmthrift.org . You can also find locations of our additional stores and donation bin locations.

Love INC of Tulare County
Love INC (In the Name of Christ) accepts gently used items, including mattresses. "Mattress are given to persons in need through our mattress ministry. Recipients can also receive blankets and linens." They also accept clothing, furniture, housewares, tools, books, and more.

Donations can be dropped off at 2121 E. Tulare Ave. or 316 E. Kern St., both in Tulare. (M-Sa, 9:00am-4:30pm). You can schedule a pick-up by calling 733-8870.
 
Habitat for Humanity of Tulare/Kings County
All proceeds from Habitat's ReStore sales goes toward the construction of more Habitat for Humanity homes in Tulare/Kings Counties. They accept donations of usable building materials and supplies.
 
Donations can be dropped off at ReStore: 637 S. Lovers Lane, Visalia (M-F, 9:00a.m. - 4:00pm, Saturday, 9:00am-3:00pm. You can also call 734-4056 to make arrangements for any necessary pick-ups. For more information, visit: hfhtkc.org/donate-to-the-visalia-restore
 
Visalia Emergency Aid Council
VEAC accepts gently used clothing, furniture, and household items. They also accept small and large appliances that are functional or may need minor repair. Each month VEAC provides over $2,000 in merchandise to families in need and clients referred from our partner agencies. All proceeds benefit their food pantry.
 
Call 635-8525 to schedule a pick-up or drop-off at 620 W. Houston Ave. in Visalia (M-Sa, 9:00am-5:00pm or Sunday, 10:00am-4:00pm)
https://www.veac.org
Non-Profit Spotlight ... 
Miguel Reyes, 
Quesadilla Gorilla
I've always had a passion to cook, from a very young age I would help my mom make dinner instead of playing video games with my 3 older brothers. That passion and desire to own my restaurant continued to grow as I got older. I met my wife in the kitchen at a previous job, and we both soon struck a common cord that owning and operating our own restaurant was the eventual goal. We soon came across the opportunity to do this and very quickly jumped on it.

Owning and operating a business with my best friend is what I love most. We do one thing and one thing only: Quesadillas. I knew when I began my pursuit of owning and operating my own restaurant, I wanted to keep it as simple and approachable as possible. I feel Quesadilla Gorilla truly supports this concept. By keeping it simple, we can focus on the quality of our food and over all experience for each customer. We opened our first store front in 2013 located in Downtown Visalia, in 2016 we launched our food truck, and in 2017 we opened two more store fronts in Fresno.

Everything we do is made from scratch, and are mostly family recipes. Like our Liquid Gold Salsa, dating back 3 generations. Visalia has always been very supportive and encouraging to our small business. From the very beginning, our "regular" customers were city officials, planners, educators, etc. The city of Visalia is community driven, especially in the downtown area, and we are fortunate enough to to get to know our town by serving them regularly. 

I believe that by being involved with the Young Professionals Network there will be more opportunities for my small business to thrive within my community. I am eager to learn what I can from those around me, and to apply new tactics into making my business and my company culture the best it can be. I look forward to experiencing the potential that this organization will bring to my business.



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The next YPN Meet Up will be held
5:30 pm
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Come out to meet new people and enjoy a drink after work
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YPN Kickball Game

June 16th
10:00 am
Plaza Park

Join the Visalia YPN for a fun pick up game of kickball. Bring a friend and meet some new people.

What is New and Exciting in Visalia


  • In January 2017 Visalia clocked in with a population of 133,841. As of January 2018 Visalia now has a total of 136,246 population. An increase of 1.8%. 
  • In total Tulare County's population for 2018 is 475,834.
  • Visalia Parks and Recreation has introduced their new online registration and facility reservation system to serve the city better. 
  • Another downtown mixed use residential project is going through the entitlement process for 117 E. Main, the current home of Midtown Sports. The plan is that this space will be a new restaurant on the ground floor and 2 apartments on the 2nd floor. 
  • A 4,000 sf medical office is being proposed at 120 E. Murray. 
  • Replanet Packagin will be adding a new 100,000 sf warehouse addition to their exiting facility on 6941 W. Goshen. 
  • Motel 6 is proposing a west wing expansion at its location on Noble.