A three month long fundraiser put on through Whole Foods raised $4,800 for TJ
Artwork By: Hayden Johnson
In one of many of Whole Foods’ unique community outreach fundraisers, the bag donation program, TJ collected a total of $4,800 going to support the Be the Change Club and TJ’s green missions.
Samanda Davis, TJ Social Worker and the Be the Change Club sponsor connected with Whole Foods and organized the partnership between TJ and the local grocery market. “A contact told me that Whole Foods partners with the community. I filled out a grant and we were selected for the bag donation program based on what the money raised would go towards,” says Davis.
The $4,800 dollars raised will not only go towards the Be the Change Club but it will help keep Challenge Day alive at TJ and aid the green club in the creation of the new community garden. “We planned on raising some money [an estimated $300] but I was floored that we raised that much. The money raised will go towards supporting next year’s Challenge Day, the Be the Change club, green projects, and to the recycling program,” says Davis.
Customers who bring their own bags to the checkout line at Whole Foods are greeted with the option to donate their bag credits to the local charity or non-profit Whole Foods is supporting at that time. Ten cents is given per each bag donation. “The customers at checkout take a credit or donate their credit to the school, ten cents per bag donation,” says Amy Wright, the Director of Marketing at the Tamarac Whole Foods location.
TJ, as well as Whole Foods, has benefited in several ways aside from the bag donation money raised. “From our partnership, our choir has gone over to the Tamarac Whole Foods store and sung at check out for the customers. Whole Foods also helped out by supporting this year’s Challenge Day,” says Davis.
Whole Foods says it is dedicated to working with and supporting the local communities in which their stores are located. The Tamarac store alone supports four local schools per year and has a donation budget that allows it to support community organizations. “The Tamarac store works with a different school per quarter, raising $15,000 to $20,000 per year for local schools. Each store also has a donation budget of $1,000 per month to support local outreach and non-profit organizations,” says Wright.
One of Whole Foods largest fundraising programs are 5% community giving days in which 5% of the day’s net sales are donated to the local non-profit organization. “All Whole Foods locations hold 5% days. The next upcoming one at the Tamarac location is on February 10, 2011 and will support Colorado Public Television,” says Wright.
