Thread: What are your holiday volunteering / mktg plans?

Anyone out there have any great holiday stories to share about volunteering in your community?

Let's get this thread going and share the good side of our industry. I know there are a lot of you out there doing so many wonderful things, and we'd all love to hear about what you do and how it impacts your life and perspective.

If you insist, you can share the benefits your efforts have on your business as well.

I usually take a crew and do thanksgiving and christmas dinner at a soup kitchen nearby. I'm still a working chef. The storage is a side business. Fed 250 last Thanksgiving and 150 at christmas (weather was bad) and promoted free turkeys for folks to take home at Christmas.

Last year we had a free pumpkin giveaway. We had about 250 pumpkins sitting out all around the store. People just had to come in and sign up for our mailing list and they could have one.

Last December Santa came in (??me??) and had pictures taken with the kids....and sometimes adults!

Wow, I look at a little bit of Santa's face and I feel like I've seen him on YouTube before.

Great start to the thread gang. Great photos Fainer. Chef Michael, that's an awesome thing to do!

Here we have a local restaurant that feeds the hungry on Christmas Day and the rest of us 'community activists' play wait staff to hundreds of people that pass through during the day. Plus Santa and his Elves (Marines included) make sure there are more than enough gifts under the tree for the little ones. It's a good thing.

Come on gang... brag a little and share with us what you all do.

Here's an easy donation to do and you can ask your customers to do the same.

Watch your local market sales fliers; about this time they offer a free or $5 turkey with a $25 purchase. Our staff picks those birds up each time we go to the store then donate them to the food pantry. It's easy and affordable even with pinched wallets, you can make a huge difference.

Where did you get the pumpkins? Did you have to pay for them? Great idea!

Major

One of the owners also owns a landscaping company. He had some connections and got about 250 of them. That would be a little pricey if you bought them at a grocery store/Walmart. But he got them for a good price wholesale, Im sure.