Shop local, give local
Will a giant online retailer support the local Kiwanis Club?
Ineeded shampoo, so I ordered it from Amazon Prime,” I overheard one college student say to another recently. One product at a time being shipped directly to a customer. Gotta love these modern times, I thought. And while I agree it’s never been a better time to be alive on this planet, I’m also concerned.
As consumer shopping habits continue to shift from browsing retail stores to hopping online, small businesses face understandable and well-known challenges. But what’s going to happen to the support local businesses provide to vital community organizations — especially anchor organizations in small towns?
Growing up in a family grocery business in Mars, I learned from my generous father when I was 14 what it really means to give back to the community where you operate a business.
When asked, he gladly sponsored a local little league baseball team, bought an ad in the high school yearbook, made donations to nearly all of the churches nearby, wrote checks to the local public library and supported in countless ways the local volunteer fire department and Kiwanis Club.
Back in the day, high school marching band hoagie sales were epic and wildly successful due in large part to the support of my dad and his small, thriving supermarket. The local bank branch, funeral home, bakery, supermarket, drug store and hardware store provided the bulk of vital support for our small-town community organizations.
But imagine reaching out to today’s behemoth retailers to ask for donations to your church’s annual turkey bingo. Or to seek a donation of candy and prizes for the Kiwanis Club’s Easter egg hunt. Where do you start?
When shopping online, you can’t stop by the front office if you see the store manager or business owner on your way out after shopping in the store. And I’m not sure how to find the proper link to pursue charitable donations on a big retailer’s website.
Regardless, asking for support via a website is a much different experience. Most likely there’s a proposal that needs to be written or an online request form for you to complete. And there’s usually a requirement for supplemental documentation, which you may or may not have available to you.
My dad could say yes on the spot, and he usually did. My brother-in-law continues that tradition today.
People can be generous and choose to be immediately supportive. But websites with protocols for charitable-donation requests? They are impersonal, and take a lot more time to navigate and persuade.
It was one thing when big-box stores started selling groceries, including dry goods, dairy, frozen foods, produce and meats. Then chain drug stores joined the trend. And I get it: one-stop shopping.
I appreciate that times change and that some small businesses accept the fact that it’s much harder now to stay profitable while offering personal customer service and community support. But those businesses shared their profits locally.
I’m not a middle-aged man yearning for the good old days. This isn’t nostalgia. I’m simply concerned about the health of communities and the schools, libraries, service organizations and other institutions that are so important to their well-being.
Kiwanis Club of Mars plans to shut down this year after 80 years of service. What will Mars and other small towns in our area lose next?