Location: Old Navy; 150 N. State St.
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2013; 12:00-3:00 pm
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| A (Green) River Runs Through It |
It was St. Patrick’s Day…well at least the day they celebrate it over here by dyeing
the Chicago River green. It is also the
day people dress in green and indulge in public intoxication since the crack of
dawn. For me, it was a day of another
Make-A-Wish project. As I walked past
the river, I had to squeeze through a huge mass of humanity, just to get to the other
side of the street. My final destination
was the Old Navy store in the loop
and while I was required to report at noon, I arrived by 11:30, with no idea of what the task entailed.
As I entered through the doors, I
saw a table set up by the entrance and an Old
Navy employee standing next to it. She
introduced herself as Caprice, and took me to meet Jason, the manager. Jason said that our job was to either stand
by the door or walk around the store, and ask people to donate money for
MAW. I asked if there were any supplies,
such as MAW banners or posters and there was nothing. This seemed very haphazard to me and I joined
Caprice at the door. Apparently, the
store employees were also partnering with us in this campaign and Caprice was doing a
much better job of collecting money as compared to me, by asking everyone entering the
store, “Would you like to donate money to
Make-A-Wish?”
Soon, another Old Navy employee Arlene, joined me at the front and Caprice left to
mingle with the crowd on the 2nd and the 3rd floor. There were two pouches in which we were to
stuff the collected money, Caprice took one with her and the second was on the
table with us. Arlene was quite good at
asking people to donate money and made sure she asked everyone who walked
in. She also added “Everything counts” to our script.
Another Old Navy employee,
Jacob joined us by the door and also started asking people if they wanted to
donate. I was doing my bit, but
not as well as they were. Somehow asking
people for money has always made me uncomfortable and while I have been quite
active over the past few months, none of the projects had been related to fund-raising. This was a new experience.
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| Blue Balloons everywhere |
The signs that it was St. Patrick’s Day Celebration were all
around us. There were a lot of people
stumbling into the store drunk and looking for the restroom. I told Jacob that perhaps we should set-up
our table right outside the restrooms and ask for a donation right there. For a moment he seriously considered that, since
we did have one person who was mobile and walking about the store. Around this time we were joined by another
MAW volunteer Sri, who immediately got to work, walking the store. One of the major attractions of our booth was
the balloons. We had many colors, most
predominant being Blue and Green – very appropriate since they are colors
representing MAW and the Irish, respectively. Anyone
who would give us a donation was offered a balloon, especially if they had
kids. Plenty of times the kids would be
staring at the balloons in our hands and as soon as that happened, I would
offer it to them while Arlene asked if they wanted to make a donation to
MAW. The parents saw that the kid wanted
a balloon and perhaps because of that, would always give us a dollar or
two. Some may call it a shrewd tactic,
but hey, every little thing works. I was fast learning the skills required for
fund-raising.
Having said that, no kid was
denied a balloon; irrespective of their parents giving us money. I have never quite figured out what is it
that attracts kids to balloons. The way
their faces lit up upon receiving it was amazing. I have vague memories from many years ago, of a park where I had gone with my parents.
I saw a giant balloon in the sky and asked my Dad if I could go see
it. He must have been distracted because
I started walking towards it by myself.
I had hugely underestimated the distance and in reality that balloon was
way up in the sky and thus miles away. I
don’t know how long I must have walked, but I remember my Mom and Dad running
after me, scared out of their wits. Don’t
remember much what the punishment was, but it surely did not involve me getting
a balloon.
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| And Green as well |
It was interesting to see people’s
reaction when we asked them for a donation.
Some would smile sheepishly and say “Not
today” or some would say “I do not
have any change”, at which we would ask them to consider making a credit card
donation at the cash register. Many
promised to give on their way out and true to their word, many did. While most were giving a dollar or spare
change – and we truly were thankful for every penny – one gentleman gave a $20
bill saying that his brother had been a ‘Wish
Child’ 10 years ago. Another woman
donated because her brother had been a recipient of a wish, having suffered
from Cystic Fibrosis. Thankfully he was
doing well, but the main point was that people whose lives had been directly
affected were giving back to the organization that had brought smiles back to them and their families. One woman whose family was
a recipient of a Disney World trip fondly recalled the story and I also met another ‘Wish Granter’. It had been
a slow start, but now we were rolling
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| Now we are talking! |
Sri came down and I took his
place walking the store with some balloons and the money pouch. It was interesting walking around with the balloons
and occasionally asking the people if they wanted to donate. I preferred the table downstairs since it
seemed like a more ‘organized’ way of doing things. I came back to join Sri and we were now going
all out, engaging the customers and even joking with them. The balloons were disappearing fast, though
Arlene was quick to go back and replenish the stock. The employees of Old Navy were doing a fantastic job and ensuring that there always were enough balloons and everyone who asked for one, got it. By now it wasn't just the kids, but even some
of the adults were requesting them as well – especially the green ones, to go
with the theme outside. One little girl
pointed at a balloon and when I asked which color she wanted, her Mom said she
liked purple. We had one balloon of that
color and I told her she was receiving the most special balloon in the
store. Seeing her and her mother’s joy
was another example of how small gestures and simple acts can make a big
difference in this world. It is
something everyone would do well to remember.
By now it was 2:15 pm and something incredible happened. We found an envelope from MAW.
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| 'Wish Stories' |
Something had been bothering me
ever since we had started this earlier in the afternoon. There was no marketing material to promote
MAW. I had asked the store employees if
they had received any material such as pamphlets or banners from MAW and they
replied in the negative. I was a bit
ticked off at this mismanagement and was going to send a note to MAW asking
them to correct this in time for next week’s promotion. Apparently a package had indeed been sent and
was lying with the regular mail. It was
this envelope that we had finally located.
Immediately Sri and I sprang into action and put up couple of banners
around the tables, spread the pamphlets and MAW had also sent us individual pages
of different ‘Wish Stories’. We put them all around us for people to stop
by and read. My hunch had been
right. As soon as people saw these
materials, their curiosity was aroused and they started asking questions. Many took pamphlets and some made donations
as well. The Old Navy employees read
the stories and asked us more questions, and this strengthened their
resolve to work harder to raise money. This
is what a personal connection through an actual story can do. And to imagine we had been working for over two
hours without that!
While MAW had assigned us to be
there till 3 pm, I learned that Old Navy
was planning to continue this promotion till closing and their employees had
volunteered in shifts to stay at the table.
Hearing this, there was no way I was leaving at 3. Sri had an appointment and left, but I
continued with a new partner, Everly, who had replaced Arlene. She and I got along very well and her
enthusiasm knew no bounds. She asked
each and every person who came in if they would like to donate to MAW. She asked me a lot of questions about the
organization and seemed proud to contribute towards the effort.
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| It had been a privilege |
A little after 4 pm, I had to
leave to make it to an appointment; in the absence of which I would I have stayed. I went to the back room, collected my coat, and
came back to the table. I stood in front
of Everly and said, “Ask me”. “Would
you like to make a donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation?” she asked. “With
pleasure”, I replied and gave her some money. She asked if I wanted a balloon and though I
was sorely tempted to take one, I had places to go after this. As I walked out I looked back at Everly,
asking every person enthusiastically if they wanted to donate. It had been a great afternoon and Old Navy has joined a long list of
organizations that I have come to respect, having seen firsthand what many of
these businesses do for the community. The strength
of any organization is the character of its employees and Old Navy had passed with flying colors. Many of them were working for low wages and we
had probably raised more money that afternoon than they make in a week or
more. But they had done this task
wholeheartedly and with genuine interest in the cause. And while most of the city had been outdoors celebrating
St. Patrick’s Day, many making fools
of themselves, the men and women of Old Navy
had conducted themselves as heroes.
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