University of Cincinnati

Final Project Paper:

Matthew 25 Ministries
Josh Colonel
Douglas Morgan

Senior Capstone
Course: AIS-4099003
Tuesday: 5:00 p.m. - 5:55 p.m.
Dr. Kegley
December 1, 2015

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Introduction
The Organization
An organization that makes a difference, an organization that comes to the aid of those affected
by disaster, an organization that helps those in need or living in poverty. This is Matthew 25 Miniseries.
Matthew 25 Ministries is the organization we decided to contribute our time to when trying to decide
which organization to select for performing the volunteer work required as part of our Senior Capstone
Final Project.

Our Role
Our role within Matthew 25 Ministries was that of an individual contributor, someone who was
willing to give their time to support others and the mission of Matthew 25 Ministries. Matthew 25
Ministries is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization who could not achieve
what they do without the help and support of volunteers. According to Matthew 25 Ministries,
volunteers play an essential role within the organization. Every hour of volunteer work donated helps
approximately 150 people in need. Therefore, as a result of this experience we helped 4,500 (2,250
individually) people in need, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

Volunteers
The sorting and processing of donations, clothing and various goods, is primarily where their
volunteers come into play. Matthew 25 Ministries receives a large volume of donated goods, all of which
must be sorted, counted, packaged, and put on pallets ready for shipment to various parts of the world.
Due to the high volume of donated goods that come through Matthew 25 Ministries, they could not do
what they do and stay operational from a financial perspective without the help of their volunteers.
They are greatly thankful for the time donated by individual volunteers, various corporations, and
organizations. They are always willing to take whatever time you can offer and can always find a job for
you.

Our Focus
So what did we hope to get out of this project? Apart from the satisfaction that one gets from
donating their time and effort to a worthy cause, we were tasked with approaching the Final Project
with a particular focus. Prior to starting the volunteer work and without knowing a lot about the
Matthew 25 Organization, we had decided that our focus would be on operations. We would observe,
review, and analyze everything we were doing and what others around us were doing. We would work
to identify those things that they do well, the things they dont do well, and the things which we saw as

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a gap. The goal would be to improve the operational efficiency, productivity, and safety of their
organization. Once we started our volunteer time, we soon and quickly started to identify many things
to support our chosen focus. We will elaborate and expand on these things later on in this paper.

Lit Review
Volunteers Needed
Matthew 25 Ministries is an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization
which is headquartered in Blue Ash, OH. The organization was formed in 1990 by Reverend Wendell
Mettey after he took a trip to Nicaragua with a group of doctors and witnessed all the poverty and
devastation in the area. The organizations goal is to help the poorest of the poor and disaster victims
throughout not only the U.S., but the entire world. In order to provide this great service to the world,
volunteers are needed. According to Jody Archer, Director of Public Relations and Community Liaison,
"The volunteers are why we're able to do what we do. We couldn't do what we do without them."
Matthew 25 Ministries has about 4,000 volunteers that come in to their organization each
month to help the cause. Groups come from churches, civic organizations, businesses, schools, and even
mission trips from out of state. Volunteers can be individuals too, or families, or friends. (Gibson,
Cincinnati Enquirer) There is something for everyone to do and help with at Matthew 25 Ministries. Even
people who dont think they can volunteer can lend their time and services. All new volunteers receive a
tour of the Matthew 25 Ministries Global Village which contains recreated scenes of poverty and
devastation throughout the world. The Global Village is meant to illustrate who and what they are
helping, so volunteers have a better understanding of what their time and effort is going towards.

Corporate Donors/Programs
Matthew 25 Ministries main focus is to reuse and repurpose products by major companies. To
promote this, they work closely with corporate donors who can give through initiatives such as their
Green Giving Program. According to the EPA, corporations dispose of billions of tons of waste per year.
Through the Green Giving Program, corporations, such as Cintas and P&G, are working to save and
donate items which can be repurposed, reused, or recycled. These are items that would otherwise end
up within a landfill where nobody can benefit from them. As a result of the Green Giving program,
Matthew 25 Ministries rescues and reuses approximately 15,000,000 pounds of these corporate excess
products each year. (Business Wire)

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Process Improvement
Like any other business or organization these days, success will be determined by how well they
operate and how efficiently they use their resources. Matthew 25 Ministries relies on time, money,
people, and their facilities in order to fulfill their mission. In order to ensure stability and success they
need to continually review their management and production processes to ensure they are getting the
most out of the resources available to them. One such way that a nonprofit can drive improvement is
through the use of Lean methodologies. With Lean, an organization examines what they do and how
they do it. In doing so you analyze the time it takes to complete tasks, the placement of work stations,
along with all other steps and actions in-between. The goal with Lean is to identify waste, or non-value
added steps which can be discarded, and to re-align work in such a way that maximum production
efficiency can be achieved. With the amount of donations that come through Matthew 25 Ministries on
a weekly basis for processing, the more lean and efficient their operation can become; the more
successful they can be, the more donations they can take in, the more people they can help around the
world.

The Mission
The mission of Matthew 25 Ministries is to fulfill Matthew 25:34-40 of the New Testament by
providing nutritional food to the hungry, clean water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, affordable
shelter to the homeless, medical care to the ill, and humanitarian supplies to those in need. (M25M.org)
The organization provides humanitarian aid around the world and assists the poorest and neediest who
are affected by disasters. By rescuing and reusing products from major corporations and manufacturers,
Matthew 25 Ministries provides basic necessities, nutritional supplements, educational materials, microenterprise supplies and disaster relief across the US and worldwide. They also place an emphasis on
education, job creation and providing aid to children. (M25M.org)

The Learning Experience

While volunteering, researching, and observing the organization, there were many things we
learned during our time there. From the moment we entered the building we were able to see and
understand how the organization worked, which allowed us to understand and identify their strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We also had the opportunity to experience their Global Village
Tour, which is a tour that helped us grasp and better understand how and why the organization helps
those in need throughout the world. This is a very important aspect of their operation because it helps

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to provide insight and motivation to volunteers who come through their doors. During our time at
Matthew 25 Ministries we gathered an abundance of information that helped us with our focus and
allowed us to identify the positive aspects along with the areas of their operation which are in need of
improvement.
Matthew 25 Ministries does many great things to improve the situation of the poor and needy
around the world, but once you work in their main facility it is apparent that opportunity for
improvement exists within their own operation. The organization has a great mission and does many
great things; however, we observed that some of their processes and procedures were slightly less than
great. In addition to the improvement opportunities we identified, we also identified many positives
about their organization, including, but not limited to, the many events and programs that they run
throughout the year. Although there is room for operational improvement, they still do an exceptional
job of shipping hundreds of thousands of supplies to those in need throughout the world. Due to the
amount of goods that they ship, Matthew 25 Ministries is an organization that definitely makes a
positive impact throughout the world.

Strengths
Sign-in Process
When first arriving at Matthew 25 Ministries to complete your volunteer hours, the first thing
you notice is a large sign over one of the main entrances marked Servant Entrance, therefore, it is
clearly marked where volunteers should go when they arrive. Within the servants entrance, volunteers
gather and wait for their shift to begin. Once the shift begins, the Matthew 25 staff brings you into the
main part of the building and directs you to the sign-in stations. It is easy to find your way to the sign-in
stations because there are large signs along the way which are clearly marked Volunteers this way with
an arrow pointing you in the right direction. Once you get to the sign-in stations, additional staff greets
you, gets you quickly signed in, and then allocates you to a staging area for further instruction.

Task Explanation
After signing in, staff members take you to the area where you will be working for the shift and
then provides clear and simple verbal instructions on what it is they expect you to do. If there are any
questions or confusion by any of the volunteers, you are free to speak and ask questions so you can get
a better understanding of what it is you will be doing.

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Working Environment
The working environment at Matthew 25 Ministries is welcoming and friendly. The staff is
courteous and always willing to address any questions or concerns that you might have. Since they are
dealing with volunteers from all walks of life and from all age ranges and experiences, everyone is free
to work at their own pace. Matthew 25 Ministries is happy with your time contribution regardless of
how large or how small it is.

Green Facility
Another positive aspect at Matthew 25 Ministries is the green aspects of their facility. Matthew
25 Ministries has a large warehouse; therefore, they consume their fair share of resources. To conserve
on energy usage, they have motion sensors hooked up to all overhead lighting. This is a big plus because
it ensures that energy consumption is occurring when it needs to occur. If someone is not working in a
particular area of the warehouse, the lighting will turn itself off. This also helps the organization to save
on utility costs.

The Global Village

The global village tells the story of why Matthew 25 Ministries does what they do and more
importantly what they do. They start the tour by explaining how they learn about disaster and relief
opportunities that occur throughout the world. After this, the tour then proceeds through various
depictions which outline the types of natural disaster and poverty conditions they encounter as they
bring relief to victims throughout the world. The tour then concludes with a short video which further
explains their mission. The Global Village experience offers volunteers with insight in to how Matthew
25 Ministries makes a difference to the poor and needy around the world, all from a single location out
of Blue Ash, OH.

Events and Fundraising

Matthew 25 Ministries adds a lot of value to the local community and around the world. To
further promote their effort and value, Matthew 25 Ministries has several programs and charity events
which they have been sponsoring over the years. Their Fighting Hunger 5K is now in its 10th year and is
an event which has produced over 485,000 pounds of food that has been distributed to those in need
within the Greater Cincinnati area. In addition to the 5K race, they also facilitate several other programs
which corporations and individuals can partake in, such as Change for Change, Grow Right, Education
Shoeboxes, and the Rainbow Paint Reblending Program.

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Volunteer Contribution
Volunteer Effectiveness
So what exactly did we do with our time at Matthew 25 ministries? We spent most of our
sessions contributing to the process of sorting clothing and other miscellaneous items. We sorted used
clothing to separate adult clothing from childrens clothing and to identify and recycle items that were
far beyond usefulness. We sorted used uniforms that were donated by Cintas, to determine which ones
were usable and which could be discarded. During another session, we helped to process a large
shipment of womens shoes which, unfortunately, could not be shipped out to those in need. In
processing the womens shoes we had to separate various types of packaging items so each group of
items could be properly recycled. These are just a few examples of how our time was effectively utilized
at Matthew 25 Ministries.

Volunteer Ineffectiveness
What we did was effective but there were definitely some weaknesses, had they been
addressed, would have greatly improved the effectiveness of the time we provided to the organization.
Therefore, our time was only ineffective in the sense of what we were unable to accomplish due to the
process inefficiencies that we observed while we were at Matthew 25 Ministries. If Matthew 25
Ministries had a more effective and efficient operation, we would have processed more items and
sorted more clothing which means that we could have helped even more people who are need. This
ineffectiveness ties into some of the things which we will touch more upon when we discuss operational
weaknesses in the next section of our paper.

Weakness
Operational
Global Village Tour
The Global Village tour is not offered during the evening volunteer hours, and on Saturday
afternoons when it is offered; new volunteers are not asked if they would like to take the tour until they
are nearing the end of their shift. We view this as a weakness because the Global Village tour does such
a great job of explaining the mission of Matthew 25 Ministries and it seems you would want to present
this information upfront to all new volunteers who are coming in the door.
Task Execution/Productivity
When it comes to tasks that are given to volunteers, it is apparent that there is a lack of
significant planning that occurs prior to the tasks being assigned. The way in which directions are given

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often leads to confusion for volunteers because the staff does not always seem to fully understand the
task either. It seems there is more of a just do it mentality with little forethought on how to effectively
execute the task.
The layout of the work stations for a given task is not always ideal either. It is typical for
volunteers to be sorting items out of one bin and have to go across the room or aisle to deposit the
items into another bin. For one of tasks, we had a job where we had to take several baskets of product
over 100 feet in-between stations and in doing so; we had to walk around, over, and in between several
obstacles. This is not an efficient approach when you consider the amount of product that gets
processed in their facility on a daily basis. The current way in which tasks are laid out and executed can
lead to confusion and wasted time, which negatively impacts the effectiveness of the overall operation.
Additionally, during peak volunteer times, there are often too many volunteers allocated for a
given task which slows everyone down and takes away from the productivity potential that is available
to the organization. Also, when a task is completed before a volunteer shift is over, volunteers are rarely
given further instruction and start looking around aimlessly because they are unsure what to do next.
Work Environment
While the working environment is friendly and welcoming, there were some things which we
noticed about the actual environment itself which could have been improved. First, there is a lot of
signage that tells volunteers where to go upon arrival, but we didnt notice any additional signage for
any other areas of the facility, such as where the dedicated locations for certain types of products are.
Once within the facility, we had to ask for directions to find our way around and we often found that
staff did not even know where everything was located. Secondly, many of the tasks can be mundane and
monotonous at times and the fact that the facility was generally quiet made the time go by much
slower. This leads into the final point; there was not a good concept of time while volunteering because
there were very few clocks within the facility itself. These are just a few of the things which we believe
had a negative impact on overall productivity.

Health
Air Quality
Air quality is an issue at Matthew 25 Ministries, mainly due to all of the dust that is floating
around in the air. Matthew 25 Ministries receives a lot of used clothing donations which arrive in large
cardboard boxes and are often accompanied by a lot of dust. The placing and movement of clothing
which get sorted often stirs up clouds of dust and when walking through portions of the warehouse the

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dust is so bad that you can visually observe it. As a result, allergies often bothered us while sorting
clothing. For people with bad allergies or even upper respiratory issues, this presents a definite concern.
Cleanliness
Another health concern we observed was regarding cleanliness. As mentioned before, Matthew
25 Ministries takes in a large amount of clothing and most clothing is used. Many of the tasks revolve
around sorting through clothes, and while necessary, it is not necessarily a clean task. Many of the areas
and stationary items, such as boxes, pallets, and other items can be very dirty, along with items being
sorted. Even the packaging for new products, such as adult diapers, gets rather dirty before leaving the
facility. At no time were volunteers offered anything to address this cleanliness concern.
Safety
Safety is a big concern in any warehouse or factory environment and this is no exception at
Matthew 25 Ministries. Since most volunteer work is being done in a warehouse, people are also
working alongside fork lift drivers. There are no spotters and blockades that get put up when forklift
drivers are working close by. This could be a dangerous situation especially if you have individuals not
paying attention or working nearby with their headphones on listening to music.
There was also a concern of the amount of workspace one is given while working a particular
task. Often when working at a station you are working in very close quarters with others and in-between
rows of pallets, therefore, you often have to squeeze around others while carrying goods and products.
When a worker is carrying product they have to climb over pallets with baskets of product in hand. This
could potentially create dangerous situations with people running into one another or with people
getting hit with products and other hardware.

Policies and Procedures

When it comes to policies, training and other rules, there are a number of concerns. We
discovered that the staff does not receive adequate training and are just told what they are going to do.
There is also little to no training on workplace conflict and sexual harassment. The staff is given a small
handbook which briefly touches upon these areas. The organization also lacks a reliable vetting process
for new volunteers. When new volunteers arrive, the staff asks the volunteers their name, their address
and why they are volunteering, however, nothing is done to validate their information. This is primarily a
concern only because you do not know whether or not your volunteers could pose a potential threat to
the staff or other volunteers.

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Opportunities for Improvement

Operational
Global Village Tour
It would be very beneficial for new volunteers to go through the global village tour when they
first arrive for their volunteer shift because the Global Village tour does a great job with explaining the
mission of Matthew 25 Ministries. Starting a new volunteer experience with the Global Village tour
would also serve as a good orientation session because it would improve each volunteers sense of
purpose and motivation.
Task Execution/Productivity
If Matthew 25 Ministries staff took more time to plan tasks ahead of time, the tasks could be
executed in a more efficient and productive manner. They could layout work stations and areas in such a
way where minimal time and effort are wasted and where all activity is value-added. Good planning
would also help to ensure that an appropriate amount of volunteers are allocated for given tasks and
would ensure that several tasks are identified so as one task is completed, volunteers can easily transfer
to the next task.
Matthew 25 Ministries would greatly benefit from Lean Six Sigma methodologies which are
aimed at production/task layout. Lean Six Sigmas primary goal is to identify and eliminate non-value
added steps and improves the overall efficiency of the process.
Work Environment
To improve the work environment at Mathew 25 Ministries, additional signage which details the
various areas of the facility, along with signage that helps volunteers to find their way around, would be
very beneficial. To address the issue of quietness and monotony throughout the facility, Matthew 25
Ministries could utilize background music; this could be done via an in-house music system or via a
background music service such as Musak. Background music helps to pass the time when working
routine tasks and can improve worker productivity. This leads to the final opportunity for improving the
work environment; time. Placing more clocks throughout the facility would assist volunteers with
keeping better track of their time.

Health
Air Quality
To help remedy the air quality issue that is caused by the dust found throughout the facility, as a
first step, Matthew 25 Ministries could ensure that dust masks are readily available to its volunteers at
all times. In certain situations, when the dust is bad enough, they may want to even require usage of the

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dust masks. Secondly, Matthew 25 Ministries could invest in an industrial air purification system. The
industrial air purification system would help keep the indoor air healthy and odor free. The healthier the
air, the healthier the staff and volunteers will be, which means the more productive they will be.
Cleanliness
To address the concern of cleanliness that exists for volunteers, Matthew 25 Ministries could
ensure that disposable gloves and hand sanitizer is readily available to its volunteers at all times. Since
donated clothing is typically not new and we dont know what conditions they came from, disposable
gloves and hand sanitizer would greatly improve the cleanliness concern that exists for volunteers who
are sorting the clothing.

Safety
To address the safety concerns observed at Matthew 25 Ministries, a few things can be done.
When fork lift operators are working in a particular area, there should at all times be a spotter who is
watching to ensure the fork lift operator does not run into anything and who also ensures that any other
workers in the area maintain a safe distance. Strategically placed blockades would also further ensure
that people dont inadvertently wander into the fork lift operators path. To address tight workspace
situations, those who plan out the various tasks could ensure that an adequate amount of workspace is
provided for all volunteers. Providing an adequate amount of work space would lesson any potential
issues which can often arise from working in tight quarters.

Operational Threats
Costs
In reviewing the weaknesses and opportunities that were identified for Matthew 25 Ministries,
one potential threat or prohibiting factor that we identified was always cost. This makes sense because
this is probably the primary prohibiting factor in most businesses when it comes to why a business
chooses whether or not to start a new effort or initiative. Most things require funds and in todays high
demand world, an excess amount of funds is not a luxury that most businesses have. What many do not
realize is that it often takes additional costs to save costs.

Lack of Volunteers
Since Matthew 25 Ministries is a nonprofit organization, they rely on the donations and time
offered by their many generous donors and volunteers. Matthew 25 Ministries often makes it known
that they could never do what they do if it were not for the help provided by their volunteers. The time
and effort offered up by volunteers has allowed Matthew 25 Ministries to offer aid and assistance to

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more and more people each and every year. In order to offer this aid, they depend on their volunteers
to help process goods and clothing at their facility in Blue Ash, OH. If volunteers stop offering their time,
this will have an immediate and direct impact on what they are able to do as an organization. For this
reason, a lack of volunteers would be the number one threat to the Matthew 25 Ministries organization.

Lack of Corporate Support

Matthew 25 Ministries currently has a number of powerful ties with major companies and if
some of them were to cut their ties, reduce their contributions, or start giving to other similar
organizations, this would also have a negative effect on the Matthew 25 Ministries organization.
Matthew 25 Ministries relies on the donations and time of corporate donors to support a large portion
of their mission, therefore, if this were to be reduced or eliminated, the amount of people in need which
Matthew 25 Ministries helps would also be greatly reduced.

Hazard and OSHA

As noted under the Weakness section of this paper, there are many issues with the overall work
layout, work environment, and work conditions. These issues could potentially lead to the Occupation
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) being called in to investigate any claims. The potential for
related threats also exist due to the lack of training that occurs for employees working within the
organization.

Recommendation
Every organization could use some help and assistance. Every organization can benefit from
someone who has experience and who has walked down the path before, someone who can help you to
overcome your challenges and obstacles, someone who can help you achieve maximum efficiency and
ultimately save time and costs. Therefore, we recommend that Matthew 25 Ministries invest in hiring a
consultant who specializes in Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma methodologies.
A consultant who specializes in these methodologies would analyze Matthew 25 Ministries
operations and processes in depth and would work to identify unnecessary steps and variation which
currently exist in the process. By working together with the staff and volunteers at Matthew 25
Ministries they would use value stream mapping to analyze the current state and then design a future
state for the actions and activities which are used to facilitate the execution of their various operational
processes. The goal would be to achieve an efficient and highly effective operation which allows
Matthew 25 Ministries to process more with less, thus allowing them to deliver more help and
assistance to those in need around the world.

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Conclusion
While volunteering at Matthew 25 Ministries it has been a total learning experience from
beginning to end. As a result of our time with the organization and our time spent researching, we now
have a better understanding on the strengths and weaknesses of the non-profit organization. Through
our volunteer experience we have learned about Matthew 25 Ministries global impact and how each
company and individual can make a difference through donation and volunteer service. Staying true to
their mission, Matthew 25 Ministries has been successful in making a difference since their organization
was founded in 1990.
In an effort to further improve their success, we evaluated several areas of their operation,
which lead to us identifying a number of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Through our
evaluation, we have especially focused on what needs to be addressed in order to improve the
organizations ability to help those in need. The recommendations that we have proposed are meant to
assist the organization with achieving their ultimate goal, which is to help the poorest of the poor and
disaster victims throughout the world, by maximizing the humanitarian aid and disaster relief that is
possible.

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Work Cited
Citation 01
Gibson, Chuck. "Matthew 25 Ministries Needs Volunteers." Cincinnati Enquirer Sep 04 2014:
1. ProQuest. 13 Oct. 2015 [http://search.proquest.com/docview/1560083961?accountid=2909]

Citation 02
Sampson, Melissa, and Lockheed Martin. "Nonprofit, Payload Process Improvement through Lean
Management." IIE Annual Conference. Proceedings (2005): 1-6. ProQuest. 13 Oct.
2015 [http://search.proquest.com/docview/192456916?accountid=2909]

Citation 03
"Corporate Donor Cintas Corporation Recognized by Matthew 25 Ministries for Environmental
Stewardship." Business Wire Jun 05 2015 ProQuest. 13 Oct.
2015 [http://search.proquest.com/docview/1686107207?accountid=2909]

Citation 04
3BL Blogs: Sealed Air Named Green Giving Corporation by Matthew: 25 Ministries. Chatham: Newstex,
20 ProQuest. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
[http://search.proquest.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/docview/1701968100?pq-origsite=summon&acc
ountid=2909]

Citation 05
"Matthew 25 Ministries." Prepares Disaster Relief for Victims of Oklahoma Tornadoes. PR.com. 21 May
2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. [http://www.pr.com/press-release/492628]