Okay, it’s 12:30 am, and I can’t sleep because I have had an idea pop into my head that I think will be really great. If anyone has anything that they think they can add to this, please do. This was all triggered by my previous post about taking advantage of the calendar. I really got to thinking about the police/emergency medical services appreciation weeks that are coming up. I’ve decided that I am going to the city clerk here in town (luckily for me it’s my father, so it will be rather easy to get in to see him) and suggest that we do an appreciation day for all emergency personnel here in town. I think what I am going to suggest is that I will go to local businesses, and see if they would be willing to donate $20 toward the cost of the gifts for all of these wonderful men and women. Each person would receive a satin hands set (I’m sure they could all use it) and some much deserved recognition for all of their hard work. The businesses could write it off as a tax deduction, and of course I would make sure they are acknowledged for their contributions. I figure I can also see if the business owners would like to purchase either gift certificates or satin hands sets for their employees while I am there.
If this goes well here in my town, I think I may expand this idea to the other towns in my area. So, what do you all think? Good idea or not?
Update:
Apparently this has really ruffled some feathers over at PT. While I do not feel the need to justify my actions to them, I do want to expand a bit on what I am going to do so that those of you who might be thinking of doing something similar will have an idea of what needs to be done.
When I spoke with my father this afternoon, (yes, I “used” my connections in the city offices to find out the proper way to go about this – shame on me), he told me that the best way to do it would be to get the backing of the local business council. He said the city could not do it because of the conflict of interest with me being his daughter. (I had already figured that would be a problem, plus with the city council having to approve it, I wouldn’t be able to keep a lid on the whole thing.) I have already gotten the approval of the council, and begun work on getting the donations. I am not actually collecting the money until I know that I will have enough to do this. I only had time to speak to about 6 business owners today, but I have already had over $400 pledged toward this. I plan on spending the next few days visiting as many businesses as I can. Everyone I have spoken to thus far likes the idea.
It was “suggested” that if I wanted to do something nice for these men and women that I should “cook them dinner.” While that is a good idea, and I do cook dinner occasionally for my sister who is a cop and my friends at the firehouse, this isn’t what I want to do. I want to show these folks that the community supports them and is grateful for all of the hard work they put in. Are the products too girly? I don’t think so. Many of the men in my life LOVE the satin hands set. I also plan on including the new sun protection products.
Lastly, this is NOT about making money. I am doing this because I have a genuine desire to show my appreciation for these people and all of their hard work. All of these groups are currently working on a big project that is set to be completed the second week of May. I think this is the perfect time for what I am planning. ALL of the businesses and individuals that make donations will be acknowledged for their generosity. My name will only be listed along with the other businesses. My labels will not be on the products. It is enough for me to know that I am doing something that will let them know that their community supports them. That is all I need from this!
I think this is an AWESOME idea and a great way to do 2 things: Build relationships with the business owners, and get sales. Not to mention how good the gift reciever will feel!
As long as its within company guidelines there is NOTHING wrong with you wanting to do things the way you want to its your business. If you are ethical and give good customer service phooey on those who want to bash!! I wish you the best of luck!
TP: This is an awesome and creative idea. I suggested my sister in law do this to get back active because she doesn’t have anyone to invite to a debut. She will get her name out there and be helpful and get her order done. She can also always go back to the businesses later and ask to put a fishbowl in. Forget the nay-sayers. Everything to do with MK is pretty much bad in their opinion. Oh well.
I think it is FABULOUS! You go girl!
Thanks everyone for your support. I found out yesterday the actual number of people that I will be doing this for. There are 78 firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and dispatchers, including the volunteers. Obviously this makes this a very large project that I am undertaking. I have only a short time to do this, as I want to present the gifts the week that our local high school is having their “mock accident.” I have less than 3 weeks! I am hoping to have enough donations by the end of next week to get the order in. I’m going to keep you all updated as much as possible on how it is going. Needless to say, I’m very busy, so I can’t make any promises as to how often I will be able to post, but I can promise that I will let you know how it all turns out. I am going to do this, one way or the other. Wish me luck! If anyone has any questions or ideas on how to do this, PLEASE send them!
I think this is an INCREDIBLE thing for you to do, Turning Pink! Not just as a MK consultant, but as a member of your community.
This is a great idea and it shows that you care about humanity as well. We need more community oriented people like yourself.
I have done programs in Avon like this. We would have our customers “buy” a certain product (usually a teddy bear), and then give all the sold teddy bears to a local orphanage/children’s home. it was a great way to maximize sales and make money. As far as I’m concerned, you are in this business to make money, and this is a good way. It helps your sales (ordering) goals and your pocketbook at the same time.
But if you are truly doing this out of the goodness of your heart, and don’t care about making money, you will maximize the money pledged to you by ordering as much product as possible using all of their money, and not ordering an equivalent retail amount. (For Example, if you receive $400 in funds, you will order $400 wholesale/your cost of Satin Hands, not $200.) This will mean the maximum amount of people receive a gift.
Thank you all for your support on this. It is going well, but I’m really having to push myself to go out of my comfort zone. I still need to raise at least another $1000, but I believe I can do that by the end of the week. I will be out all day tomorrow and all day Thursday trying to finish up. (I didn’t do any work today because it is my daughter’s 5th birthday, and I promised her I wouldn’t work today. It’s nice to be able to do things like that.) The only benefit (in my MK world) for me on this is that I will become a star consultant, and I will get the product bonuses. I am not intending to make one penny off of the donations. In my small town, it would be almost impossible to raise enough money if I were trying to profit from it.