Community Service Events Finalist: The Bowerbird
Colleen Bohen -- Gifts and Dec, 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
The Bowerbird of Old Lyme, CT, takes the idea of "gifts that keep on giving" to new heights with its gift wrapping program, through which it donates 50 percent of proceeds from the service to charity. The retailer, which has been selling "impulsive necessities" since 1989, says the program has enabled it to donate more than $45,000 to 21 local non-profits over the past 15 years.
Co-owners Chris Kitchings and Howard Brensilver say the idea was born out of necessity in the store's third year in business, when the two realized the costs of its then-complimentary gift wrapping service was a drain on resources. Rather than abolish the service, the duo decided to charge $1 per package with the intention of donating half of the price to benefit a local library, which was then undergoing a major expansion. The pair collected the money for a period of one year at the end of which they donated $425 to the library.
The Bowerbird has selected a new cause each year since then. Most recently, the store presented $5,307, the proceeds of its 2008 gift-wrapping service, to the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Fdn. It has chosen The Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut to receive the proceeds of its 2009 program, which began November 1, 2008.
As the popularity of the store's charitable efforts has grown, so too, has the store. According to the co-owners, The Bowerbird hatched in a 500 sq.-ft. space, taking in $100,000 in annual sales and today it occupies a 5,000 sq.-ft. nest and is on "the verge of breaking the $2 million mark"— impressive numbers for a store located in a community of under 8,000 people. It seems the owners believe their growth can be at least in part attributed to the extra exposure and reputation boost they've received in conjunction with the gift-wrapping program. They say customers come from all over Connecticut to visit their store.
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