In the early years our company had to focus on its survival, and we didn’t have the resources to help our communities. Through the years as we have been increasingly blessed with success, we have been able to look “beyond the four walls of the store” and give back in our respective communities.
That giving back has taken the form of cash donations, merchandise donations, and volunteer service. Even though our larger cash donations are managed by a team, one of Elder’s roles that he retained even in the latter years of his life was taking the hundreds of phone calls annually asking for small donations to school groups, church events, community functions, etc. These were small gifts in the range of $10, $20 or maybe $50 at a time. Elder enjoyed helping folks, and he felt that it was a way he could serve our company.
Today we do what we can to support hundreds of organizations and events. And, our larger gifts are made through United Way in each community. We believe that United Way’s community-wide focus and support of many worthy organizations is the perfect avenue for much of our giving.