Donuts For Retail Workers 2016
Donation protected
Introduction
Hi, I'm Josh. I used to work in the retail industry. From graduation from high school, through college, and several years after that, I worked a variety of low-paid jobs, to help feed my family through the Great Recession.
In 2011, I finally escaped the world of retail. After ten years, I had had enough, and found greener pastures elsewhere. I never forgot my experiences working in the industry, and the people I worked with. Many have not been so lucky.
The Reasoning
Every year, it seems that more and more stores are opening earlier and earlier for the "Black Friday" deals. Some now open on Thanksgiving. This causes many stores to require employees to work long shifts through the night to stock the shelves and ring up customers. These employees miss Thanksgiving with their family, have interrupted sleep schedules, and basically have a pretty rough weekend.
History of the Project
The year I left retail, I made it a point to come in to my "old store" (a very large big box retail chain) and give doughnuts and coffee to my old coworkers around midnight Thanksgiving night. navigating through the crowded lines, impatient customers, and piles of stuff, it felt pretty good to give them something to look forward to, even if only for a moment.
in 2012 and 2013, I did it again. Felt nice.
In 2014, I decided to try something. I asked my friends (many of whom who had also worked in retail) to pitch in to buy more doughnuts, and more coffee, for more stores. The result was rather impressive - $200, which buys a LOT of doughnuts and coffee. Suddenly, this was a fun challenge, and brightened up many more people's long shifts into the night - it took me many hours to deliver dozens of doughnuts to many stores (and tip the doughnut makers generously for making so many). By the time i crashed into my bed in the wee hours of the morning, someone had tipped off the local paper, and i made the news. Apparently it struck a chord with people, shared dozens of times on Facebook.
(here's the article from 2014, if you're interested)
In 2015, I dreamed big. What if i could not only give doughnuts to retail workers, but also our emergency workers? I expanded the scope - retail, firefighters, police, and hospital/first responders. And then I added a "bonus round" - any extra money raised would go towards the local county food bank, to help families in need during the holiday season.
I was astounded by the generosity of everyone who donated. Close to 50 people raised $796 - WAY more than enough to cover all the doughnuts I could conceivably buy for anyone working that night. I ended up donating $700 to the Monroe County Opportunity Program. The look on their faces when I gave them the check (I didn't tell them ahead of time) still warms my heart. A portion of the letter is below, but apparently $700 goes a heck of a long way to providing for many families in need (175 families, in fact, with 600 pounds of food. That's stunning.)
The plan for 2016
So, it's that time of year again. Stores are still opening on Thanksgiving and way too early on Black Friday. Hospitals and police and fire stations are still open 24/7/365. And families are still in need of food during the holidays.
It's also your time to be awesome :)
The ask is simple: Raise enough to cover for doughnuts for anyone working in retail or emergency services that night. ALL extra money beyond that goes to the Monroe County Opportunity Program , earmarked for the food bank.
Personally, I think we can raise at least $1000 to give to the food bank (doughnuts have run around $150 in the past). If we raise more? We help more people. Easy!
I normally start late Thanksgiving evening, and continue until I run out of places to deliver doughnuts to. As is tradition at this point, I'll be "live blogging" the stores I visit on Facebook and Instagram.
Closing thoughts
Finally, infinite thanks for your past contributions. This has grown so much in 5 years, and I'm even happier it has become something far beyond my own personal "feel good" karma boost during the holidays. This now feels like a community effort. It's a community i'm happy to be part of.
Thanks for your time. Doughnut forget to share on social media to spread the word. :)
-Josh
Hi, I'm Josh. I used to work in the retail industry. From graduation from high school, through college, and several years after that, I worked a variety of low-paid jobs, to help feed my family through the Great Recession.
In 2011, I finally escaped the world of retail. After ten years, I had had enough, and found greener pastures elsewhere. I never forgot my experiences working in the industry, and the people I worked with. Many have not been so lucky.
The Reasoning
Every year, it seems that more and more stores are opening earlier and earlier for the "Black Friday" deals. Some now open on Thanksgiving. This causes many stores to require employees to work long shifts through the night to stock the shelves and ring up customers. These employees miss Thanksgiving with their family, have interrupted sleep schedules, and basically have a pretty rough weekend.
History of the Project
The year I left retail, I made it a point to come in to my "old store" (a very large big box retail chain) and give doughnuts and coffee to my old coworkers around midnight Thanksgiving night. navigating through the crowded lines, impatient customers, and piles of stuff, it felt pretty good to give them something to look forward to, even if only for a moment.
in 2012 and 2013, I did it again. Felt nice.
In 2014, I decided to try something. I asked my friends (many of whom who had also worked in retail) to pitch in to buy more doughnuts, and more coffee, for more stores. The result was rather impressive - $200, which buys a LOT of doughnuts and coffee. Suddenly, this was a fun challenge, and brightened up many more people's long shifts into the night - it took me many hours to deliver dozens of doughnuts to many stores (and tip the doughnut makers generously for making so many). By the time i crashed into my bed in the wee hours of the morning, someone had tipped off the local paper, and i made the news. Apparently it struck a chord with people, shared dozens of times on Facebook.
(here's the article from 2014, if you're interested)
In 2015, I dreamed big. What if i could not only give doughnuts to retail workers, but also our emergency workers? I expanded the scope - retail, firefighters, police, and hospital/first responders. And then I added a "bonus round" - any extra money raised would go towards the local county food bank, to help families in need during the holiday season.
I was astounded by the generosity of everyone who donated. Close to 50 people raised $796 - WAY more than enough to cover all the doughnuts I could conceivably buy for anyone working that night. I ended up donating $700 to the Monroe County Opportunity Program. The look on their faces when I gave them the check (I didn't tell them ahead of time) still warms my heart. A portion of the letter is below, but apparently $700 goes a heck of a long way to providing for many families in need (175 families, in fact, with 600 pounds of food. That's stunning.)
The plan for 2016
So, it's that time of year again. Stores are still opening on Thanksgiving and way too early on Black Friday. Hospitals and police and fire stations are still open 24/7/365. And families are still in need of food during the holidays.
It's also your time to be awesome :)
The ask is simple: Raise enough to cover for doughnuts for anyone working in retail or emergency services that night. ALL extra money beyond that goes to the Monroe County Opportunity Program , earmarked for the food bank.
Personally, I think we can raise at least $1000 to give to the food bank (doughnuts have run around $150 in the past). If we raise more? We help more people. Easy!
I normally start late Thanksgiving evening, and continue until I run out of places to deliver doughnuts to. As is tradition at this point, I'll be "live blogging" the stores I visit on Facebook and Instagram.
Closing thoughts
Finally, infinite thanks for your past contributions. This has grown so much in 5 years, and I'm even happier it has become something far beyond my own personal "feel good" karma boost during the holidays. This now feels like a community effort. It's a community i'm happy to be part of.
Thanks for your time. Doughnut forget to share on social media to spread the word. :)
-Josh
Organizer
Josh Eikenberry
Organizer
Monroe, MI