Spring 2013
Doing Good By Stephanie Vozza

Easy Ways to Give Back

Meredith Hite, vice president of corporate communications for the Dallas Market Center, encourages retailers to give back to their communities and adds that the efforts don't need to be complex. She offers these four simple ideas for contributing.

Hold a canned goods or toy drive and offer shoppers a special discount for participating.

Encourage your staff to volunteer their time in the community. It doesn't have to be about raising money, says Hite; goodwill is just as important.

Implement a program like Keep the Change, where storeowners ask shoppers if they would like to donate their change to a charitable cause. Hite says storeowners can get shoppers involved in selecting the receiving charity via social media.

Offer your store as a space for hosting fundraising events. Hite says it's easy to forget that charitable organizations need locations.

Journeys of Life

Jean Haller, owner of Journeys of Life, a gift and accessories store in Pittsburgh, PA, has participated in countless efforts benefiting her community for more than 20 years.

“Giving back to the community has always been at the forefront of our store’s calling,” says Haller.

In November of 2011, a fire destroyed Journeys’ entire inventory. The full amount of the insurance claim—including building repairs, inventory replacement and loss of business – was more than $500,000. Haller admits she considered retiring, but realized she wasn’t ready.

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“It’s because of the community where I live and work that Journeys grew to be the service-oriented business that it is,” says Haller. “Neither the community nor I was ready to see Journeys disappear. That is evident from the support that brought the store back from the ashes.”

The community rallied and helped reopen the store through vendors sending product, neighbors pricing merchandise, volunteers coming to help and the media publicizing the efforts. Less than two weeks later, Haller reopened just in time for Small Business Saturday.

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The community’s outpouring was no surprise. Haller had been involved in her area for 20 years, supporting drug and alcohol recovery programs, food pantries, and other community projects. She considers charity work as much a part of the business as selling. Journeys of Life reopened in its original location roughly six months after the fire.

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Editor’s note: For more about Journeys, read the Summer ‘12 issue of GIFT SHOP magazine.

Stephanie Vozza

Stephanie Vozza is a freelance writer based in the Detroit area. She specializes in business and real estate. Learn more at stephanievozza.com.

Social Connections

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