BATON ROUGE — The Purple Cow is upgrading its Perkins Road location with a brand-new donation area located at the back of the store.

Mayor-President Sid Edwards joined store representatives Friday morning for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening. Store officials hope the dedicated section will streamline the drop-off process, improve the overall customer experience and boost community awareness.

Every purchase and donation directly supports local families. Proceeds go to the Christian Outreach Center, which provides vital services ranging from homelessness prevention to support for individuals experiencing homelessness.

"The Purple Cow generates 90% of the funding of the Christian Outreach Center, so it's the key to our success," said Brian Sleeth, Executive Director of the Christian Outreach Center. "And the mission of the Christian Outreach Center, we help people who are anywhere from experiencing homelessness to people who are at risk of homelessness."

The Purple Cow's Perkins Road location is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.