The last week has been trying for the country. I don’t want to sit here and pretend all is well, because there is still a ton of conversation in the media, in social talk, and everywhere you go, but I am grateful to share with you some good cheer at a time we all need something. And I need to grasp onto something to begin to move forward.
As you know I work with a lot of awesome companies on MomDot. It’s something I truly enjoy and charity is near and dear to my heart. In the past the MomDot community was the winner of a $10,000 check to fund Donors Choose projects and I have often spoken of charity work that I am involved in from fundraising to visiting locations. So when Kohls contacted me about “paying it forward” to a family in need, the only answer I could give was yes.
Absolutely.
They sent me a $250 gift card to spend any way I liked on someone in need and specifically requested that I find a family or families that had children in need. To be honest I was a bit overwhelmed with “choosing” someone to be the recipient. What I learned is that there are far too many people in need and the holidays tend to showcase that. That being said, as a blogger I am constantly on Facebook and Twitter and on the forums and on blogs and I had become aware of a family that I knew of by online talk. Dad had out of the blue lost his primary income and job just weeks ago. They had yet to have started their holiday shopping for their three children and now were not sure what to do. I talked with the mom and she was really excited that she was getting some help this Christmas and Holiday time.
In the interest of her privacy, I have cut out the majority of our conversation and her name but she said:
So a few weeks ago when Charlotte and I were out, we went by Kohls and it gave me a great opportunity to really get Charlotte involved in the spirit of caring for others and helping out where we can. I let Charlotte pick out the majority of presents, taking into account what mom told me her kids were into, and we had a great time!
Because I am an avid Kohls shopper already, we had my Kohls coupons that we used on our purchases to buy even more! We actually had gotten to the front thinking we had timed out our money perfectly and once we added our coupon, we had another $50 to spend, so the nice people at the registered put aside our stuff and we ran back and loaded some more!
She insisted on carrying the bags to the car on her own.
Here is what we ended up with! An outfit for each child and several presents for each child and we hope it helps bring them a bit more cheer and the parents a little less stress.
Two More Ways Kohl’s is Giving This Holiday
1) Kohl’s will give up to $500,000 to Toys for Tots. For every new person who “Likes” Kohl’s Facebook page from this Nov. 23 – Dec. 24, Kohl’s will donate $1 to Toys for Tots, up to $500,000.
2) Gifts that Give Back. This holiday, Kohl’s offers exclusive hardcover books featuring American classic stories such as The Wizard of Oz, The Night Before Christmas and The Velveteen Rabbit along with coordinating plush toys for just $5 each through the Kohl’s Cares cause merchandise program. Also for $5, Kohl’s Cares merchandise brings shoppers a Good Housekeeping cookbook, a holiday CD of greatest hits and seasonal notecards. Under this program, Kohl’s donates 100 percent of the net profit to children’s health and education initiatives nationwide. Since 2000, it has raised more than $208 million for children’s health and education programs in local communities across the country.
~Trisha
*Kohls donated the gift card that we spent on the family. We paid shipping to this family entirely out of pocket and were not compensated for this post. Opinions of Kohls and experiences are my own.
