Church Welfare Operations


Deseret Industries

Deseret Industries was established in 1938 to provide work, training, and job placement for those with disabilities and other special needs. Deseret Industries provides work with on-site and off-site training to trainees in a safe environment. Professionals with advanced degrees in rehabilitation help each Deseret Industries trainee to develop an individual self-reliance plan. Training is then customized to fit the needs of the person and the person's employment goals. Working with LDS Employment Resource Services, trainees are placed into jobs in the community.

Deseret Industries fosters donations of usable items through community drives and at drop-off locations, striving to ensure that donors feel appreciated for their generosity. The shopping public is served by having quality merchandise offered in a clean retail environment at low prices. Selected surplus goods are shipped to the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center, where they are sorted, prepared, and shipped worldwide to help relieve suffering.

"The real purpose of the industries is to produce independence on the part of each individual, to make him self-supporting, to replace idleness with thrift and productivity. The Deseret Industries was established for the benefit of the individual" (David O. McKay, "The Silver Anniversary of Deseret Industries," Improvement Era, Aug. 1963, 28).