by John Stevens
August 10, 2011 7:14 PM
There are certain things that a lot of people do not do because they feel like it does not matter whether they do or not. Voting will always be a great example. How many elections have ever been decided by one vote? Another thing individuals make excuses not to do because they cannot make a difference is charitable work.
A lot of self storage companies prove every day that it does not take numbers to make a difference. For example, back in April a small team of roughly 30 people represented Lockaway Storage (in San Antonio) in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The facility agreed to donate $5 from every rental in the week leading up to the race, collecting almost $3,000 in the process!
In the grand scheme of things, their donation does not amount to much. The Texas Self Storage Association is trying to harness that very charitable spirit to maximize their annual efforts to help the Shriners Children’s Burn Hospital in Galveston, Texas.
It’s called The Starfish Campaign. The basic idea came from a poem, “The Starfish: Making a Difference.” In it a little girl asks an old man why he is picking up individual starfish that were washed ashore and throwing them back in the ocean. With thousands of them washed ashore there was no way she could see him making a difference. His response was simply, “It made a difference to that one.”
Many self storage companies within the state are already involved in a number of different charities, but with the Starfish Campaign, the TSSA is hoping to combine individual efforts from around the state to make a larger, collective difference.
Participating facilities are directed to print off copies of the starfish graphic available on the TSSA website. Give children crayons to color the picture and for a donation they can put their name on the picture and know that there gift—no matter what the size—goes to help another child just like them. Facilities will bring all their pictures to the annual convention in October.
If all 3,300 facilities were to collect just $5 in donations, that would come out to over $16,000 to go towards a worthy cause!
“It’s an honor to support an organization that does so much to treat critically-burned children while relying solely on donations from the public and without charging for their services,” said Doug Hunt, TSSA Fundraiser Committee Chairman.
Sources Used:
“TSSA Hits Ten Year Mark for Helping Children At Shriners Hospital in Texas.” Self Storage Industry News; 19 January 2011.
“Making a Difference.” Self Storage News; July/August 2011.