"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop
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How We Discovered Grassroots Giving
So, if you haven't noticed, in the last week the economy has either hit rock bottom or else the nearing Holidays have made us all painfully aware of just how different the economic situation is this year. Maybe it's both. Most of us aren't used to choosing between paying bills and giving gifts. And it's making us grumpy, cranky, impatient and just downright rude to each other. Scrooge would be proud.
PRstore worked off-site on Friday after a long week of the aforesaid grumpy exchanges with clients and vendors. The North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade was Saturday and we had lots to do to be ready. I had decided last year that starting in '08 PRstore should be a permanent participant in the parade - Grassroots at its finest. It was a ton of work to build our own float though and coming on the heels of a rough week, there wasn't much hop in our step.
Saturday morning was filled with rushing around, re-gluing pieces that had fallen during the night and figuring out how to transport the float 10 miles without losing the entire thing along the way. Whew! More than once I questioned why in the world we were even doing this. Bah Humbug!
Then we were finally there, finally all ready and finally lined-up in our designated spot. And an amazing thing happened. As the procession began and we started to pass the people lined-up to see the parade, I noticed how sad so many of them looked. They probably had a rough week too - many much worse than mine. So we started smiling and waving. Making eye contact. And simply saying "Merry Christmas!" "Happy Holidays!"
The reaction was instant and always the same. Faces lit up. Smiles overturned frowns. They waved back and wished us the same. It was inspiring. After the worst economic year in recent history. After so much fear and uncertainty. The power of a smile and a Holiday Wish is still more powerful than all the bad stuff. The human spirit is ever hopeful, ever optimistic. Lying right under the surface, is our desire to rise up, try again, beat the odds and surge forward.
And so my Grassroots Marketing idea to have a PRstore float in the Holiday Parade - for my company to have community exposure - turned out to be about Grassroots Giving instead. We didn't give much, just our energy to build the float and then brave the 40 degree weather, a smile and a Holiday Wish. But judging by how good it made us feel and by how many smiles we received in return, I have to believe that good 'ole Aesop was right. Even small acts of kindness can turn around someone's day.
So Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Wishing you joy, peace and hope during the coming week! No more Scrooge for PRstore - we're back in Santa's Camp and loving it!- CSR
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