Every year Bramble Berry adopts a Salvation Army families and buys Christmas gifts for them (our post from last year). This year we had 5 families with a total of 33 individuals. It was a big job – but fortunately much of the crew turned out to help! It’s a holiday tradition that we all love. The Bramble Berry team volunteers their time after work to help do the shopping. And, that’s a good thing because even with 20ish people help shop, it still took over 2 hours to find everything on the lists.
To the right is Amber passing out the shopping wish lists. She gets the names and ages ahead of time and makes up the ‘Wish Lists’ so everyone is clear on the sizes of the clothing and what toys the kids want. Her organization is key to making the shopping trip go smoothly. And to the left is Nicole (aka BrambleMomma on the Teach Soap forum) and her daughter finding the perfect gifts.
Here we are lined up at the register. The line was so long I couldn’t get all of us in one picture! Shoppers kept walking by our line and looking at us with a mixture of horror and pity. And then, quickly scurried off to find shorter lines. On the right, we are bagging, organizing and labeling all of Christmas gifts. Though we buy wrapping paper to include with the gifts, we don’t wrap any of the presents so that the parents can look everything over before the big day. We are extremely thankful to Fred Meyers for giving us our own cashier and for giving an extra 10% off of everything we bought so we could give even more presents.
Here I am swiping my credit card card; it’s one of my favorite moments of the entire year – surrounded by the incredible Bramble Berry team, living up to our value of being ‘Socially Responsible’ and making a positive impact on our local community. Alas, even with all the joy, someone has to clean up. Tim, the experienced cashier they gave us, sure had a lot of hangers to clean up after we were done.
It was good thing our warehouse crew is so very good at packing. They managed to get everything into Norm’s car – of course there wasn’t room for anyone else besides Norm after they were done. He also reported that everytime he stopped, no less than 3 toys would start singing or making some type of racket.
We were all extremely grateful that we were able to share some holiday cheer with those less fortunate than us. It such a blessing to be given the incredible opportunity to give back to our community. Thank you for shopping at Bramble Berry so we can continue to give back throughout the year to worthy non-profits. Happy Holidays!
This is not only professionally inspiring, but personally inspiring, as well. Good for you guys – thank you for sharing! I think you rock.
more companies should follow your lead
What a wonderful thing you have done. The Salvation army is one of the best organizations in the world. The helped save my fiance's life and help to save many others.
It's nice to see you doing such a wonderful thing for the organization that just keeps giving all year long. Bless you and all those who helped.
You guys are awesome for doing this. Kudos to BB!
Love it! Thanks for doing this, Anne-Marie. For the second year in a row, I am putting a portion of the proceeds from my mail orders towards gifts from the giving tree in my community. I find it is very heartwarming to share with others during this season, especially.
This demonstrates so perfectly why I love this season =)
Thank you for stepping up in such a large way! I have always believed that to whom much is given, much is required, and I am glad to see a "home grown" company operating on such principles. Seeing this post, as well as some others, makes me glad that I found your company. Since I need to purchase supplies, I'd certainly rather purchase them from a company that thinks of others, such as yours, than the vast majority of corporate bottom-liners! So THANK YOU and Merry Christmas!
Tammy
UniqueGardenEssences
this is wonderful — good for you!!! XOXOXO
This really nice of you!!
This is absolutley wonderful, I hope the 5 families have the best christmas ever with your presents
I never tire of seeing your photos for this event every year, A-M! As Carrie (Under the Willow) said, it warms the heart. 🙂
This warms my heart.
Great event, Ann-Marie! It took me back to the working days when our laboratory would sponsor a family. The staff had more fun and satisfaction than the recipients.
And what fun for your staff to go as a group and select..a truely group project. Thank you for sharing this Christmas story.
What a wonderful story to wake up to! And you make me feel like I'm contributing too, just by being a BB customer. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all.
What a wonderful story. Thank you for giving back!
This is truly a beautiful thing!
~Erin
What a wonderful thing you are doing! Too funny about Norm and the toys while driving. 🙂
Tis the season! That's wonderful you're able to help families in need! Shopping is fun until it comes time for the checkout line. haha Glad you all got it done with smiles on your faces. 🙂
This is wonderful Anne-Marie!