It’s no secret that giving hearts day is a special time of year for our community. In 2020 alone, nearly $19.2 million was raised for charities through the 24- hour friend-raising event. That level of impact wouldn’t be possible without the dedication, empathy and generosity of the various giving hearts businesses that participate. With that in mind, let’s meet four tremendous giving hearts business partners.
Happy Harry’s, GHD Business Partner
Why is Giving Hearts Day so important to Happy Harry’s?
We enjoy partnering with Giving Hearts Day since it is another opportunity to give back to the community that has supported us for over 75 years. This is just another great avenue for us to be able to extend our reach even more to our customers and surrounding communities. We have always been customer service driven not only in our stores but also outside of our doors.
With so many ways to get involved with GHD, why did your company choose to make such a strong commitment?
Each year we donate to over 75 different organizations locally and in the surrounding communities. It has and always will be our mission to give back to the communities as they have shopped with us and supported us through all these years.
Can you tell me about the GHD Wine and the giving campaign?
This year we wanted to revisit a promotion we had done a couple of years ago. We selected a wine and ordered it specifically for the Giving Hearts Day Campaign this year. Greetings Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is our selection for this year’s campaign. It is definitely a wine that will not disappoint. It is a rich and supple Cabernet that has a lot of dark fruit layers which keep unwinding from start to finish, making it very versatile as a nice complement to a hearty meal or as a gift for that special friend. We started this campaign earlier than we had in previous years to give our holiday shoppers the opportunity to participate in this promotion. As a customer, you will be saving $6 off of the retail price, which in turn, Happy Harry’s will be donating $6 to Giving Hearts Day 2021. We call it our “Save $6, Give $6” campaign and feel it is a very easy way for people to indirectly donate to Giving Hearts Day and impact the lives of their neighbors.
What is a cause that is important to your company?
Happy Harry’s has always enjoyed supporting and engaging those organizations whose main focus is on the arts and culture to enhance the quality of life in our communities; to programs encouraging community development and to those dedicated to health and wellness.
Are there any particular stories from GHD that get talked about around the office?
Everyone from management all the way down to our part-time employees are always fascinated to see just a glimpse of how many organizations are out there, just in our region, who are doing good for those who need help.
Leela & Lavender, Ghd Business Partner
Why is Giving Hearts Day so important to Leela & Lavender?
Our mission at Leela & Lavender is to use business as a force for good. We believe in exciting and inspiring our teams and customers to go out of their way to contribute to our local communities. We believe in being the “spark” to create a purpose-driven culture for our teams. We are honored to watch our teams and customers “pay it forward”.
With so many ways to get involved with GHD, why did your company choose to make such a strong commitment?
We believe in contributing to honor the potential of all the deserving charities that Giving Hearts partners with.
Can you tell me about the company’s giving campaign and why you feel it’s important to donate a percentage of your sales around Giving Hearts Day?
Leela & Lavender is driven to make a difference in our communities by inspiring a giving culture. We admire the passion invested in the Giving Hearts Day 24 hour local effort that has sparked such generous giving in ND and MN and want to be a part of this giving force.
What is a cause that is important to your company?
Oh, there are so many! One that is near and dear to our hearts is Landon’s Light Foundation. While battling childhood cancer, Landon inspired faith, kindness, compassion and love for others in an entire community and beyond. We are honored to play a role in carrying on Landon’s legacy and to help families facing medical hardships. The foundation’s mission of being the light and spreading kindness resonates so greatly with our teams at Leela & Lavender.
Are there any particular stories from GHD that get talked about around the office?
The Leela & Lavender teams get involved in Giving Hearts Day at the store level by surfacing up the charities that they have personal connections to, those are the charities that we donate to. It is always such a meaningful day when we have the opportunity to give. The teams are honored to be a part of the Giving Hearts Day fundraising and the impact to the community.
Roers, Ghd Business Partner
Why is Giving Hearts Day so important to Roers?
Team members have the opportunity to choose to give to organizations that are near and dear to their hearts. These organizations may have helped one of us personally or a family member/friend when in need. Together those organizations are working hard to improve our community and better the lives of people of all ages. The opportunities Giving Hearts Day provides for the organizations is tremendous. Roers is proud to be a part of this day that is so impactful and help provide additional support to hundreds of organizations.
With so many ways to get involved with GHD, why did your company choose to make such a strong commitment?
Giving back to the community is part of who Roers is. “Community” is one of our core values and it is more than a sign on our wall. Giving back and giving often is something that our team members truly embrace. At Roers, we have a Give and Grow Committee that empowers team members to participate in a variety of things throughout the year, two of them being volunteering quarterly and another being able to help select recipients of quarterly donations. We are extremely proud to be able to commit at the Gold Level for Giving Hearts Day.
Why did Roers decide that it was important to volunteer quarterly?
We want to do what we can to build success in the communities we serve. Being able to have our employees involved with organizations that need help through volunteering or monetary donations is something we feel is important. We enjoy the opportunity to work with multiple organizations of different sizes and with different needs. Volunteering is another way for us to live our core values and continue to enhance the culture we have at Roers.
What is a cause that is important to your company?
We give back to numerous organizations throughout the year, We do hold a United Way employee campaign which also gives back to hundreds of non-profits as well and we coordinate a quarterly volunteer activity. You’ll also find many team members volunteering during their own time with organizations they deem worthy.
Are there any particular stories from GHD that get talked about around the office?
We enjoy being involved in the special day. We do what we can to help promote the day, increase awareness and encourage others to participate. Besides encouraging employees to wear red on GHD, we have been involved in a stationary bike race and a jump-a-thon which have been highlights over the years.
Gateway Chevrolet, Ghd Business Partner
Why is Giving Hearts Day so important to Gateway Chevrolet?
Gateway Chevrolet has been a part of this community since 1982, and this community has given Gateway so much—from great customers to outstanding employees. Giving Hearts Day is an amazing way for us to give back to the community we value so much.
With so many ways to get involved with GHD, why did your company choose to make such a strong commitment?
We have seen the impact Giving Hearts Day has had in the community, and we love being able to be a part of that. From providing vehicles for Dakota Medical Foundation team to use, to donating monetarily and volunteering—there are so many ways to be involved and we try to take advantage of them all!
Why does Gateway Chevrolet turn the dealership red around Giving Hearts Day?
The more people that are aware of GHD and the impact it has on our community, the more people may be inspired to give, whether that is time through volunteering or monetarily. It is really about awareness—we want every person in the community to be aware of this awesome day and that is one way we can help with that.
What is a cause that is important to your company?
Anytime we can contribute to this great community, that is a cause important to us. With a few hundred employees, we do not have one particular cause we focus on because there are so many causes that are important to our customers and employees, but food insecurity, homelessness and animal charities are some of the ones we routinely give to.
Are there any particular stories from GHD that get talked about around the office?
We always have a fun time around the dealership setting up signs and other materials in anticipation of Giving Hearts Day. We had a great time getting together at the dealership with some of the DMF team for a group photo (see above, photo taken Jan. 2020, preCOVID).
To get involved with Giving Hearts Day, visit givingheartsday.org/ partners/businesses
