thrift store associate

processing clerk

grader

animal caretaker

driver

Idaho Youth Ranch

I worked in one of the houses where they house youth that are troubled or nowhere to go.  I found really quick how things roll in the workplace.  If they don't like you don't expect to have a job there long.  I basically worked there for almost a year and a lot of the staff aren't people Id normally associate with.  There were a few of them that had worked in a prison nearby which is entirely different from working in a shelter or a house.  I normally did a lot of transports for kids going to school, court, and appts etc.  I've done similar type work for other companies but this was the first time that you had a coworker telling you to do your job a certain way while your supervisor may say something different.  It wasn't really consistent for me because I did a lot of fill in where needed and had a hard time finding any stable ground.  Each of the three facilities was run a little different.  In Boise its an actual shelter and there's a transitioning house where various staff are always around you.  The one in Nampa you were sometimes alone with the youth on transports.  One on one there usually pretty good but sometimes when they're amongst peers they feel the need to show off or one up someone they don't like. They used thinking errors and were suppose to be called upon by peers or staff. That didn't always happen though.
In the end I was let go since Id had a few critical incidents two of which were set ups but for some reason I took the wrap for it.  There were other staff there for all but one.  I had to wonder some of the people I worked with as I know a few of them were shady.
I was told the Discovery house was later closed but am not sure why. 
I know there had been at least two employees that were involved in giving out Meth to kids there she was fired but why the other wasn't I am not sure. What happened after I left I'd like to know.

A typical day at the Idaho Youth Ranch depending upon which department i was stationed at universally consisted of handling a lot of donations: which involved being outside accepting in donations , pricing and printing out tags, putting items on the floor or running a register it was normally non stop busy. The expectations that corporate placed on the manager seemed unrealistic given the fact that stress from trying to meet those demands would cause the store manager to become frazzled, distracted and no real idea of how to get it all done so in trying to do so she would pull us employees from job to job without ever really finishing any of them and things would in turn be consistently chaotic and unpredictable. I have nothing bad to say about any of the people that i worked with individually, however the lack of structure made the store managers unfocused personality hard to work with at times. I am a hard worker and i take any job i do seriously and working alongside a younger crowd and the handful of them that do not take work seriously and no one keeping them in line  made work harder than it needed to be. i would work harder to try to pick up the slack because that is who i am whether it is my place to do so or not i cant help. i learned thru working there that i may not be suitable for a job with so many unknown factors. I met a lot of interesting people whom i hope to have as friends for many years to come. i enjoyed getting back into interacting with the public. it was surprising to me just how many donations the store would get on a weekly basis and the kinds of things that would come through.

As for retail, I worked in multiple locations, multiple positions with many teams/management styles. The job functions are fairly simple to understand and learn. I stayed very busy and my day typically flew by. It was very cool to see all the different things people are willing to donate from everyday items to designer products, even cars! I learned a lot in terms of product knowledge, multitasking and quick decision making. But on the flip side its astounding how much stuff you can receive in a day and how disgusting the donations can be. It's much more than just dirt/dust! Both front and back tasks involve standing all day, multitasking and lifting products of various weights. If progression in position is what you seek there isn't any here. You can be an SR or Leads and that's about it. Management doesn't change often and the ones I worked with were either too lenient or too controlling.

As for the company itself, they've massively improved on pay since I worked there but I don't remember how the benefits were as for I didn't use them. Although higher ups do get paid very well they do support the youth of Idaho in many ways and have some amazing programs. Some being residential care, youth and family therapy, job readiness training, adoption services, and more. The uppers could improve from taking thoughts/opinions from the staff of each location when they make changes to processes/expectations though. But overall they do as they say and that's not common.

A typical day there, well there is none because they are always busy with things they do. They never run out of anything to do. There is always cleaning things such as sweeping, moping, wiping things of with windex or furniture polish or anything like that. Then you have your organizing where you just go a round and fix anything that is out of the ordinary. Another thing with organizing is going through all the different items like sorting through the media or something like that. The things that I have learned from volunteering at the youth ranch is learning how to work with others in the right way. Like working with the customers with what they need help with and working with the employers with all the different types of things that they have there and just working with them to learn how to do them the right way and everything else. The management there is great. They are so nice to you and you are always kept busy. The work place culture is in pretty good shape except they can probably work on more on cleaning up a little more like moping and such because they don't really pay attention to that cause they have a bunch of other things to worry about. I would have to say that the hardest part of the job is not trying because when you give up to easy its just going to only get harder a long the way. The most enjoyable part is working with the employees and getting to know them.

I was a graduate from two IYR programs as a youth. I did PR, public speaking and fundraising for them for over 20 years before going to work for them.

I was hired to build an ecommerce department from the ground up. The department grew quickly with new initiatives implemented to ensure a maximum return on donations. I had incredible support from my supervisor, the VP of Business Enterprise as well as the rest of the executive.

As a graduate and lifetime supporter it was an honor to work with them and help in executing our mission to help at-risk youth in Idaho. This mission was very important to me personally and as I trained my staff I trained them to be there for the mission. I managed one of the best groups o people I have ever managed.

The most difficult part of working for IYR was to see the closure of almost every residential treatment center they operated. With every closure it meant we were helping less youth and as a graduate and employee that was very difficult to see happen.

The best part of the job was knowing that what we did was helping at-risk youth that may not have received help otherwise.

The company was the retail arm of a non-profit. Most store operations were fairly straightforward. Run a cash register, stock shelves, help customers with purchases. We also received donations. This could entail 8+hours on a busy day of unloading everything from a small box of clothes to a U-Haul full of furniture and housewares. Nothing about any of the tasks was overly complex. 
However the pace of performance demanded by the main office was excessive relative to the pay they were providing. Most positions earned the $7.25 minimum wage, with higher positions only making $1-2 and hour more. The benefits were pretty good though. But there was always push to do the simple tasks at an almost frantic pace with near perfect execution. 
I felt that the non-profit nature of the organization was something the main office hid behind to refuse wage increases 
Also all staff worked the weekend. It can really hamper family life not being able to hang out with friends/spouses/kids on their day off.

I never thought I would want to work anywhere for a long time. I always sort of thought you stayed at a job for a few years so that you can get promoted into another job. I've been at Idaho Youth Ranch nearly 7 years and I still feel like I am learning and growing every year. I have a team of people I love working with who inspire and motivate me every day. It seems like I hear new stories every week from every pocket of the organization that motivate me. Whether it is an individual who is recovering from homelessness because they are working in our stores or from a young person who got help once and is now writing legislation that makes help more available for all, there are constantly reasons to get excited about coming to work. That doesn't mean that the work is easy (there is a reason we call it work). As a nonprofit, there will always be more work than there is time in a day. The difference is, however, the meaningfulness of that work. I came from the for-profit world and it was the same. Now, I know that my work has a direct impact on my community. I take so much joy and pride in saying that I am part of the Idaho Youth Ranch team. 

I worked there for three months, I was hurt at work and nearly broke my wrist from then on they said I was too slow basically, forced me to do things against my doctors orders when it came to the amount I was supposed to use my arm and the amount I was supposed to lift with my arm by telling me I HAD to use it more then right after my doctor changes my restrictions to less than before they change my schedule to nights and cost me a full day of work and pay cause they didnt tell me until after the fact they had changed it. the working nights meant I was the one to close the donations on my own for the most part which required much more than I was supposed to do with my left arm, it became so painful I had to do physical therapy to try to fix it. I have tried to reach out to corporate to complain about all the issues I had there and have been ignored for two weeks, I worked for the nampa/caldwell store and some of the people were great, just not the leadership.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Everyone from CEO to Thrift Store Associate works for the mission. They care about culture and they prioritize it!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Generating enough revenue to meet goals.  On the retail side lots to do with limited resources.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overall good. It is a very important part of this company. It is an expectation that all employees feel valued...

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I work with multiple store teams. Helping to problem solve any challenges that may come up. I motivate these teams and give support wherever I can. I work hard to make it easier for them to achieve the goals and budgets that are in place. I participate in culture focus groups, work with management to better our efficiencies, increase revenue and control costs for our agency.

In a typical day I would have to sort through donations at the warehouse; this consisted of apple crates overfilled and precariously balanced on top of one another, broken glass, donations that had been in old barns, garages, and/or sheds filled with rodent feces and ancient dust, and miscellaneous chemicals, all without proper safety gear. I would have to climb over and on top of things to get to other parts of the warehouse on a daily basis. This was also true of working in the store locations. The buildings were in disrepair, had inadequate heating and cooling, as well as natural gas leaks. Management did not care and only addressed some of the issues after months of employee complaints, and ultimately a few calls to corporate. Employees were treated poorly, documented medical difficulties or ailments resulted in termination of employment. Overall, I would not recommend anyone work for the Idaho Youth Ranch.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Thrift store associate 221 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour
Processing clerk 39 salaries reported	$14.21 per hour
Grader 22 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Animal caretaker 8 salaries reported	$19.45 per hour
Driver 7 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour

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