CHARITY STORAGE
HEARTFELT HELP WITH EASY IMPLEMENTATION
Charity Storage Board Member Spotlight:
Lisa BarthChiappetta By Katie Tompulis
Lisa Barth-Chiappetta
L
isa Barth-Chiappetta is no stranger to self-storage. She learned the ins and outs of facility management by lending a helping hand to her family business as she grew up. From an early age, BarthChiapetta recognized the significant role managers played in the success of her family’s facilities and how close involvement in their local community coincided with a positive customer and employee experience. Now co-owner and operator of Barth Storage, BarthChiappetta prioritizes community at the forefront of her company. “We care about the community because the community is what made our business and kept us successful over the years,” says Barth-Chiappetta. “And it inspires our employees to be engaged, energized, and provide the ultimate customer experience.” Before the idea of Charity Storage was conceived, Barth-Chiappetta had already begun to leverage her storage units for good in a manner nearly identical to the model the program would follow years later. Barth-Chiappetta brought her experiences with her own units and the nonprofits in her local
SECOND QUARTER 2022
community to the Charity Storage team to offer her support to other operators who had a similar mission of giving back. “I work very closely with our local homeless shelter,” she says. “Over the years we would collect unwanted items from customers that they did not want
“Any storage facility can donate a unit. It does not cost anything besides space.” - LISA BARTH-CHIAPPETTA
to dispose of. We started using some of our storage units and collecting the items that they did not want to help support families served by the shelter. They would have a family that needed some furniture so they would come into our storage units.” Barth-Chiapetta goes on to say, “The community really helped me get that going and keep those units
stacked for when the shelter had people in need. That is how I got into Charity Storage, because it was near and dear to my heart.” Her background in the industry gave her unique insight into utilizing the space in her facility for a greater cause. “Any storage facility can donate a unit. It does not cost anything besides space. I am sure there is always a broken unit or a manager unit, or some units that are not being rented at the time,” Barth-Chiappetta says. “You may have a bunch of extra 10-by-10s or something like that at the end of the season, and you could afford to hand out one or two. Any storage facility can participate on some level. It is not difficult to have one unit lease available to hold these items and then sell them to donate to your local community through Charity Storage.” Barth Storage advocates often for the ease that comes with the Charity Storage program. “It is a grassroots program that should be brought up more because it is so easy for operators to implement,” she says. “It is incredibly easy to collect a few items
Self-Storage NOW!
41
