New initiative supports employees that rely on tips
Fundraising effort will award a ‘tip’ to nominated employee
POTTSTOWN » The spread of coronavirus across the region has resulted in a number of initiatives designed to put a focus on area small businesses and employees that have been impacted.
A new initiative — the Community Tip Campaign — is underway specifically to support employees that rely on tips.
Many of those employees have been displaced by the pandemic, according to Chris Lerch, who organized this initiative. Lerch spearheaded three rounds of “Shop Small to Win Big” promotions over the past several months in support of businesses along the Route 422 corridor from Pottstown to Phoenixville.
“This is a different way to support the businesses by supporting those that work there or that have been laid off. The hope is our community will want to rally behind the idea,” he said, adding that he had thought about this idea for a while, as another way to “do good” through the Hello 422 Facebook
page.
The tip campaign launched on Monday, July 20, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 2. At the end of the campaign, one nominated employee, including servers, bartenders, salon employees — any employee that relies on tips — will be chosen to receive the money that has been donated.
A GoFundMe page has been set up where donations can be made. According to information posted on the GoFundMe page, the workers “depend on tip money, and with no work or limited work, many are in a difficult spot.”
Anyone that makes a donation of $5 or more, according to Lerch, will be entered to win $250 in gift cards donated by area businesses.
In addition to the monetary donations, Lerch said he’s looking for people to nominate someone they think deserves the tip.
“They should tell us why that person is special to them — whether the person has waited on them by several years or if you know they do something in the community. Why is that person deserving,” he said.
Once the initiative ends on
Aug. 2, Lerch and event sponsor, Realtor Jim Crawford, will review the nominees and select a winner. The prize will be awarded the week of Aug. 3, Lerch said, adding that he would like to surprise the winner if possible.
The GoFundMe page has a goal of raising $500 for the tip, and as of early Tuesday afternoon, July 21, a total of $145 had been raised.
The winner of the gift cards will be selected early in the week of Aug. 3, Lerch said. As he has with previous promotions, Lerch will use a random number generator to select the winner during a live Facebook drawing.
Nominations can be emailed to chris@hello422.com or sent via Facebook messenger to Hello 422.
In November, Lerch created a page called “Hello Pottstown” in support of the borough’s Shop Small Saturday event. He later renamed the page Hello 422, to encompass a larger area.
Since April, he has organized three Shop Small to Win Big events. Area businesses donated gift cards to be given away. To be eligible to win the gift cards, entrants were required to make at least one $50 purchase during the entry period. The initiatives saw more than $176,000 spent at area businesses.
The Hello 422 Facebook page has also hosted a “Black Business Showcase — Shop Small to Win Big” event, designed to raise awareness about black-owned businesses in the region.
And recently, the site hosted a Facebook Review event — where people were asked to post a review on their favorite restaurant’s Facebook page. If they did, they were entered to win a prize. Lerch said 225 reviews were posted within the one week promotion period.
The GoFundMe page has a goal of raising $500 for the tip, and as of early Tuesday afternoon, July 21, a total of $145 had been raised.