The Adventist Community Services 403 Center is a thrift store and emergency help center in Madison, Tennessee, run almost entirely by volunteers. We provide food, clothing, household essentials and practical assistance to neighbors who need them — and we try to do it in a way that treats every person who walks through our doors with dignity.
“Love God, Love People, Serve the world.”
What we do
Two things happen at the 403, side by side.
Our Help Center provides food boxes, clothing and household necessities to individuals and families who need assistance. Help is offered on a first-come, first-served basis during opening hours.
Our Thrift Store and boutique area are open to everyone. Shopping with us is one of the simplest ways to support the work — every purchase helps fund food assistance, programs and the daily cost of keeping the Center running.
How the Center is funded
The 403 Center runs on donations. Donated goods either go directly to people in need, or are sold to fund food and supplies for those who need that kind of help instead.
Sometimes a single donation goes a very long way. Dan Gibson, a longtime member and deacon of Madison Campus Church, spent decades collecting baseball caps — on road trips, at ball games, in convenience stores, anywhere he found one that needed a home. He gathered more than 1,200 of them, most still new with tags.
After his death, his wife Faye and daughter Denise decided the best home for the collection was the 403, so that the friends we serve could cover their heads with hats given in love. Hundreds were given away free. The more collectible ones found their way to collectors, boutique shops and online buyers — one sold for $163 — raising roughly $8,000 for the Center's work.
Families have been fed and needs met because one man could not pass up a baseball cap, and because his family chose to give the collection away. We are grateful to them.
Volunteers are the Center
Almost everything here is done by volunteers — cashiers, interviewers, monitors, people who sort and price clothing and linens, people who pack food boxes, people who lift heavy things. Whether you can give a couple of hours a month or a day a week, there is work for you.
Some volunteers arrive needing community service hours and stay because they want to. One young man came to us after graduating high school, unsure what to expect from a Christian ministry and reluctant to be here at all. He worked alongside our volunteers, joined morning worship, asked questions — and when his required hours were finished, he came back. He has returned many times since, simply because he wants to.
Others have sat on the other side of the desk. Two of our regular volunteers were once Help Center clients themselves. Because they know what it is to need a helping hand, they bring a compassion to the work that cannot be taught. Watching someone move from receiving help to giving it is the clearest measure of success we know.
If your schedule has opened up and you have been thinking about it, come in, take a tour, and talk to a few of the volunteers. Students needing community hours are very welcome.
Ways to support the work
- Give goods — clothing, household necessities, seasonal items, Bibles, hygiene supplies.
- Serve — once, occasionally, or as part of the regular team.
- Shop — the thrift and boutique areas fund food assistance and daily operations.
- Give financially — money buys food, cares for the facility, and meets needs that donated goods cannot.
- Pray — for our clients, our volunteers, and for wisdom in using well what we are given.
Visit us
Thrift Store — Monday to Thursday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Help Center — Monday to Thursday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Donation drop-off during regular operating hours.
403 Gallatin Pike S., Madison, TN 37115 · (615) 860-6001