Team: Elizabeth & Kim
Elizabeth couldn’t help but hope that our team spread the spirit of “Give Yourself” in the K-mart checkout line.
We decided to give part of our Give Yourself budget to an outreach program put together by the St. Stephen Catholic Community. Every year, local elementary schools submit names of families in financial crisis. Donations are collected and the gymnasium, classrooms and meeting areas of the church are transformed into one big department store. Parents come out to shop through aisle after aisle of toys for their children and pick up bedding, clothes and other essential items for the entire family. The Christmas elves then package and gift wrap the holiday presents.
One of the departments most in need is the bedding room. While there are enough donations to fill a huge gymnasium with toys, donations of sheets and blankets are not as abundant. We put our savvy shopping skills to the test as we searched for the best deal on sheets. When we discovered an amazing sale at K-mart, Elizabeth rushed out to nab the sheet sets before they were picked over.
She loaded up the shopping cart and headed to the checkout. When it was her turn in line, she explained to the clerk that she was shopping for a company charity project and had a budget to stick to. She told her she’d hoped to be able to purchase everything in her cart, but to help keep an eye out as we reached the limit of our budget. As the number on the price scanner climbed dangerously close to our target amount, there were still sheets on the conveyor belt. When the last sheet set was rung up the clerk exclaimed, “you made it, you don’t have to put anything back!” Caught up in the moment, she and the K-mart clerk broke out their best victory dances and excitedly discussed the many families that will be able to stay a little bit warmer this holiday season.
We don’t know what lasting impression our project left on the K-mart clerk, but we’d like to think that she will be that more likely to give herself this holiday season.
Here’s a snapshot of the toys collected so far at St. Stephen:
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