by Tony Gonzalez
August 9, 2011 2:21 PM
Even when times are good in the country there are always people that are in need. When times are not so good (like now), even more people become in need of a helping hand to meet their basic needs. The good thing is that there are many people that recognize this and work to help those who need helping whenever they can.
Great examples of the philanthropic spirit can be found all over the self storage industry. One example of a facility that embodies the spirit of giving is Champion Self Storage located in Palm Coast, Florida.
Frank Cates, the manager at Champion Self Storage, wanted to do something other than the normal customer appreciation day.
“We’re in charge of customer appreciation days,” he said of his storage location, “which are typically pretty boring, in my opinion.”
After doing some research, he discovered that there were roughly 300 kids that qualified as “homeless” attending school in the district. Armed with that knowledge, he hatched an idea that he hoped could help these children, a Family Fun Fest at Champion Self Storage.
He and his employees began canvassing the neighborhood, approaching local businesses for help and informing the public at large of the event. Businesses are welcome to set up a booth; Cates just requests that they donate $40 to the Flagler County Education Foundation to benefit two programs, the Homeless 2 Homeward and S.T.U.F.F. (Supplying Things You Find Fundamental) the Bus.
“We’re really excited about our fundraising event to help the Children of Flagler County,” said Sentry President Richard Yonis. Sentry Self Storage Management operates Champion Self Storage. “In these tough economic times, Champion Self Storage would like to give back the community wherever possible.”
Cates is working hard to encourage people to donate whatever they possibly can. No admittance fee will be charged to guests, and vendors can sell whatever they want as long as they make a small donation. No donation is required at the end of the day, regardless of whatever sales the vendor has. Champion Self Storage will also be runing a special that day, a 50 percent discount on rentals of at least four months, $20 off the administration fee, and 25 percent off packing supplies.
“Sell what you want,” Cates said of the vendors. “If you want to donate at the end of the day — great. If not — great!”
The logic becomes two-fold. By not forcing vendors to do more than the $40 donation in beginning, the hope is that more vendors will attend the Family Fun Fest event and will the get caught up in the spirit of the event and donate more.
Least of all, Cates hopes to bring the community together a little more. If businesses do not donate the day of the event (August 20th from 10 AM to 4 PM) his hope is that they will establish a relationship with the school and do even more in the long run.
“We’re just hosting it. It’s not about us … It just comes down to the kids in the school, because they need both money and supplies,” he said.
Sources Used:
“Champion Self Storage Helps Children of Flagler County Schools.” Inside Self Storage; 08 August 2011.
“Champion Storage champions cause of Flagler homeless.” PalmCoastObserver.com; 03 August 2011.