Baseball, CSR and community partnerships at Arc Thirft

So we just got back from Colorado Springs, and the Sky Sox baseball game (at the country's highest baseball stadium). Although not without it's hiccups (almost rained off and delayed for 2 hours) the Sky Sox's won it's first game in the last 7 and it was fun with a capital F.

The game included: music between every ball thrown, a crazy mascot called Sox (the fox, of course), giveaways like pizza, a bible (which was given to me after the MC came over for a chat and heard it was our first game - my gang said they would have preferred the pizza!), hotel breaks, season tickets and scores of baseballs. There were crazy games in every break, and we even figured out the rules with the help of a friendly beer vendor.

Our complimentary seats were among the best in the house, (thanks to Kathy at Arc and John Eddy at Sky Sox) and the kids got free baseball gloves too (it was a 'family giveaway game' and the first 1500 kids through the gates all got them), signed by Sox once we managed to catch him!

 

Sky Sox & Arc Thrift...

John Eddy, Kathy's original contact at Sky Sox, was first approached during a cold call with a request for an auction lot (we've all been there!), and their relationship has developed over the years. This just demonstrates the time and effort required to develop corporate contacts...a good lesson to take away for the future.

The view from our seats and part of the Arc advertising on the screen...

Arc are one of the official sponsors for the Sky Sox. As Arc pay for this privilege, it is a corporate partnership with a difference. As you should know by now, I'm here looking for unique and creative partnerships so this fits right in. The benefits of this partnership for Arc are pretty far reaching and clear to see. They organised a 'tailgate BBQ' fundraiser before the game (a BBQ in the parking lot, served from car's boots if you are wondering) and were mentioned numerous times the game, including at one of the breaks where an Arky Arc advert was shown on the electronic score board, the crazy mascot Fox did a song and dance with the crowd that related to this and over 100 of the Arc league group were watching the game for free. Arc are thrilled with the 5 month season partnership, so it will be really interesting to see if they continue it next year.

Arc also run events, fundraisers and store openings where Sox (the Fox) attends as the 'VIP', and are able to openly advertise their relationship with Sky Sox in stores and adverts etc. The Sky Sox are the only triple A affiliate to major league Denver based Colorado Rockies which translates to a high profile in the area, and a solid fan base.     

Arc community partnerships, programs and events...

Arc also run a wide and diverse range of community events and partnerships. These range from events that benefit their target group, those with developmental disabilities and those that benefit the community as a whole, particularly those from low income families. The second of these programs often involve a partner charity who co-ordinate the program on the ground. Again there is so much to tell you about, but I've pulled out one that really stood out and could be easily transferable to the UK...

Fill-a-truck Fundraiser - this involves supporting local community groups to raise there own funds through collecting donations for Arc. Arc deliver a truck to an agreed location and the community group fill the truck with donations generated from their friends, family and supporters. Upon collection of the truck, Arc pay $'s per pound for the donations collected. The community group are happy to have funds for their next activity or event (often this is scout or girl guides groups), and Arc get donations (often great quality) to sell in their stores.

There are many other community partnerships and programs Arc run that do not benefit them directly; I suppose you could see it as their own CSR partnerships, giving back to the community that in turn may support the shop as customers and donors of the future.

Voucher Distribution - Arc produce an estimated 100,000+ shopping vouchers each year that are distributed to local charities to give out to their clients, Arc partner with both the Salvation Army and Volunteers of America. Each $5 voucher is redeemable in store, there is no minimum spend and vouchers can be added together meaning 4 vouchers, worth $20, could be spent in store at once. There is no catch (although understandably no change will be given!).

Volunteers of America (VoA) City Harvest Annual Food Drive - each year VoA run an food drive. This is in essence a huge annual food bank. In the months running up to the event Arc tell every potential donor they speak to at their call centre about the drive, and offer to pick up donations of food at the doorstep while picking up donations of goods for their stores. Arc then store, and eventually package up the food which is given to the partnering charities to distribute. To give you an idea of scale, this year 150 tonnes of food has been collected by Arc!! Wow.

Back  to School drive - every year a number of charities in the Denver area run a back to school drive. This drive offers children receiving school meals a chance to have free clothing, shoes and supplies to help ease the cost of their return to school. Arc provide 100% of the clothes for this initiative. They also partner with Crocs (who are based in Denver) who last year gave each child two pairs of shoes.

It's quite a humbling thing to see a non-profit acting in such a proactive and deliberate way in this area, and inspires me to consider how UK charity shops could begin to involve themselves in activities like this. If just a small proportion of the10,000 plus UK shops engaged with their local communities, what impact could it have?

I'll leave you with that thought overnight...