It’s been a very trying time for all industries during the COVID-19 pandemic and charities are reliant on almost every sector.
As fundraisers, we are seeing mass cancellations of fundraising events, businesses pulling back on support and sponsorship, and even our ongoing personal donations have been tempered by an understandable sense of insecurity, fear and anxiety.
Despite this impact, we’ve seen some Phoenix-like occasions, where ideas rise from the ashes and compel our community to do good.
One such example is that local businesses have decided that giving back and helping those along the front lines is just as important as ever and even more so. Notwithstanding their own financial struggles and their own capacity to put food on the table, they are still making the conscious decision to give back or encourage others to do so.
In April, City Print + and Anchored Ideas decided to launch a campaign selling “We Will Rise Again” T-shirts as a fundraiser for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation’s Area of Greatest Need.
This fund, which provides important flexibility in making an immediate impact, supports any ongoing COVID-19-related requests from the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
In deciding to support our hospital, these two local businesses didn’t simply offer a product to sell. They went above and beyond.
In addition to sourcing, designing and screen-printing the shirts, the staff also boxed, marketed and organized deliveries with the foundation team.
This was not simply a donation — it was a massive project that occupied many hours for staff members who were not profiting from it at all. In fact, they most likely lost money during the process.
In the end, more than 4,700 T-shirts were sold, resulting in more than $75,000 raised, 100 per cent of which went back to those in need.
I highlight this because it’s important to understand that when a business offers a product or service as a donation, we often don’t see the tireless work that goes behind their generosity.
It’s much more than a good deed and often it ends in the business incurring more costs than originally anticipated, but they do it with a smile and a sense of pride. They do it because at the end of the day, the nurse who is run off her feet, the patient who is relying on a ventilator, or the dietician who was able to plan the palliative patient’s final meals — they need this support.
When a local business rallies their staff, resources, time and efforts, they do it because they are making a difference and they can make our community better. They aren’t looking for a pat on the back. They aren’t looking for notoriety. They simply intend to make things better for the rest of us.
Supporting these businesses is essential. Although they won’t ask you for it, I will.
Please support local businesses that support your community. When a gas station sponsors your daughter’s soccer team, a local fisherman provides lobster for a draw or a chain restaurant, owned and operated by a local neighbour, offers to retrofit a pediatric exam room, these are the businesses we need to support right back. These people won’t ask for your support in turn for their generosity, but I will.
I understand it’s tough times. I know that many of us are no longer drawing a regular income and if you are, it may be drastically reduced. However, I want you to think before you make your next purchase.
Did this business help when your community needed it? Did they give back to support the hospital where your son was born prematurely, or your sister had her life-saving surgery?
Well, now they need you. Make the right choice when you buy. Buy from the people and businesses who were there when you needed it the most.
Mark Inglis is the marketing and communications officer with the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation (@becauseucare) and has more than 10 years of experience in the education, communication and charitable sectors. He lives in North Sydney with his family.
