Time and again we convey to our customers that we are a business with a heart. We give and give. Each month we donate $5,000 in merchandise on Facebook to good causes. Every single day we allow our customers to designate a nonprofit to receive 5% of their order amount---on us. And of course we always have some great deals! Giving back makes us feel like we contribute to our community, our city and our country.
Today we want to share a story with you about going above and beyond the scope of business to help a nonprofit in Ohio make a difference in the lives of 100 less-privileged kids. This is the kind of story that keeps us alive, passionate and engaged.
It happened on crazy Black Friday. We were beyond busy---the phones were ringing off the hooks and our chat line was bombarded with questions. You can imagine, right?
This is a story of goodwill and over the top service to help a nonprofit in desperate need.
A customer ordered 100 sleeping bags for kids attending their nonprofit camp. These children were from underprivileged backgrounds and the camp was an opportunity for them to experience something positive and great at a three-day Thanksgiving weekend event where the kids could take the sleeping bags home with them afterwards. The kids were thrilled and excited. DollarDays was happy to be a part of the event. We placed the sleeping bag order and they were set to snuggle in their warm sleeping bags for a memorable three day Thanksgiving weekend!
However, disaster struck in another part of the nation, and a disaster relief organization required an immediate shipment of sleeping bags just before the Thanksgiving holiday. This emergency moved all other orders down the queue, including the camp’s, which meant no sleeping bags for the kids. Their camping event started on November 27 and their sleeping bags were still in transit. They would not be delivered in time.
When we were alerted about the disaster and its trickle-down effect on the kids’ camping trip, we were sad, as we knew what a disappointment this would be to the children. After our initial conversation with our customer about giving these kids the attention and the experience they so deserved, we knew we couldn’t let this happen. We had to find sleeping bags for those kids! We jumped into action to help the camp and the children who were already arriving for the event. We phoned local sports outlets near the camp and we were able to secure 100 sleeping bags in less than an hour! More importantly, DollarDays was able to do this at the retailer’s wholesale cost, which met the budgeting needs of the camp. We coordinated the pick-up of the sleeping bags with the camp and the retailer to help with the time restraints for the first night of camp. This eased the emotional and financial stress levied on the nonprofit, and the kids never had to know that their weekend was almost cancelled.
We were pleased to have helped one of our nonprofit organizations meet their needs, but more importantly, the needs of the children they were helping.
Sure, we lost the sale, but we saved the day for 100 kids simply from a small token of our love and admiration for all that nonprofits do to help our communities.
So, if you had to wait a few minutes to talk or chat with us on Black Friday, now you know it was for a good cause. Giving back never felt so good.