By Michael Campbell

It is always valuable when you have an opportunity to learn more about the needs of your community. By chance, our CEO saw a Facebook post about a blanket drive to help the local Maricopa County animal shelters. Luckily, we had some fleece blankets in the office and decided to drop them off at a local business helping with the blanket drive. Afterward, I felt it was important to learn more about animal shelters and was surprised to hear the full scope of their needs.

According to Ben Swan, Development Manager at Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (MCACC), less than 6% of the funding for comes from the state. That means a heavy reliance is put on donations and grants from the community. The two main shelters often have around 700 dogs between them on any given day and nearly 30,000 dogs and cats every year. Despite an enthusiastic community, that means they are left with a consistent shortage of dog food and pet supplies.

Taking care of 700 dogs is certainly a daunting task, but understandable when I learned that MCACC operates open shelters. Open shelters will take all dogs and cats, regardless of age or medical challenge. They have also established a vibrant transportation system that allows them to provide dogs to other shelters in Arizona where they may have a better chance of being adopted.

Programs

Beyond basic day-to-day care, MCACC is dedicated to their partnerships and programs that provide valuable services for the animals in their care. Just to name a few:

The Arizona Pet Project – Provides resources and financial assistance to families to help keep pets in their homes

#LovePup – Guarantees that every animal is microchipped when they leave the shelter

Just One Dog, Just One Life – A foster program targeted for larger, overlooked dogs

These programs and so many more make MCACC a critical resources for animals in need. Along with programs, MCACC will also host events including, “Calming the Canines” in which the shelters open their doors in the evening during the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve. This allows volunteers to come comfort and play with the dogs so they are calm during the celebratory fireworks.

I came away from my conversation with Ben with a profound respect for MCACC and all the people who dedicate their time, 7 days a week, to help hundreds of animals in need. It has also contributed to our renewed dedication to being more active with local organizations so we can be the best partners possible. I encourage everyone to look into volunteer or donation opportunities at your local animal shelter because I guarantee they would love the help.

To learn more about the Maricopa County Animal Care & Control Center, click here.

How to Prepare a Business for the Winter

The weather has been turning quickly, as temperatures across the United States are plummeting. For businesses of all types and sizes, wintertime brings about a lot of changes to store policies, hours, maintenance and inventory. It’s good to begin prepping your winter business practices now so you’re fully prepared for all that winter brings — good and bad.

1. Prepare Your Online Store

An estimate of around 190 million people, half of the United States’ population, shops online. This number rises in the winter, particularly around the holidays, as people are less inclined to face the storms to conduct their shopping. It’s a much quicker process, as you are able to see a variety of more available products and can do it in the comfort of wherever you are. That’s the consumer thought process and you have to be familiar with and listen to your audience in order to make sales and connections. If you want to make the most of wintertime sales, it’s highly encouraged to prepare your online store and marketing strategy so you can garner as many online customers as possible.

2. Choose Your Seasonal Product Lines

As you prepare for winter, you also need to begin bracing yourself for the holidays. During the holiday season, you’ll likely be updating your inventory to offer more seasonal gifts that cater to Thanksgiving and Christmas shoppers. Begin scouting out the latest seasonal trends so you can choose an inventory based around the hottest-selling items.

3. Prepare Your Parking Lot

This is one of the most important cold weather safety tips for merchants with brick and mortar locations. The parking lot of a business must always be maintained, especially during the snowy months of winter. Potholes and cracks in the asphalt can be dangerous at any time of year, but when the temperature drops, the roads can turn icy which makes for a bad combination, especially if it snows. Scan your parking lot for any holes or cracks and have them paved over before the first snow.

4. Stock up on Needed Office Supplies

This is essential knowhow to prepare for winter. Come wintertime, businesses are much more likely to face late shipments than in the summertime, due to poor road conditions that limit travel abilities for truckers. As such, it’s better to be overstocked on necessary supplies than understocked on items, to prepare in case a shipment arrives late. Take stock of all supplies that are used daily, particularly office supplies, and be sure to purchase more than enough in advance.

5. Have a Disaster Recovery Plan Ready

Disaster recovery plans are even more vital in winter since there is a greater chance of the building falling victim to structural or technological damages. Have a plan in place that details what to do should your business lose power or be impacted by structural damage due to an intense storm. It’s wise to also have all the essential software and technology backed up to the cloud so your business can continue to operate, even in the middle of a power outage.

Understandably, businesses are more susceptible to issues and obstacles in the wintertime compared to the summertime. The business you operate will have higher utility costs, you’ll have more maintenance tasks ahead of you, and you might even see the number of clients decrease. Don’t worry, though, you can brace your company for the worst possible circumstances by making the necessary precautions. You’ll then be able to create more wintertime sales while avoiding the potential disasters that cost businesses money. Start stocking up on the supplies your company needs, so you always have enough on hand. Visit DollarDays today and start browsing.

To shop winter-ready items click here.

This week we had the pleasure of hosting Sam Leyvas, Executive Director of HomeAid Phoenix, to our office to learn more about the organization and their goals as one of HomeAid’s newest chapters. Sam worked in philanthropy for the last several years, specifically venture philanthropy in Washington, D.C., but started to feel distanced from the actual missions. This prompted a move back home to Phoenix and a search for a job with a deeper connection. Sam was soon presented with the opportunity to be the Executive Director of HomeAid Phoenix, which officially opened in September.

On a national level, HomeAid has been around for 30 years since its founding by a California affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders. Their work focuses on engaging home-building partners in local communities to complete building projects that benefit those affected by homelessness. To date, HomeAid has completed over 600 building projects, aiding over 330,000 individuals experiencing homelessness.

We were impressed to hear that HomeAid Phoenix has representatives from 14 different home-building companies on their board, illustrating a desire to do some collective good despite being industry competitors. Sam spoke often about HomeAid’s eagerness to tackle the issue of homelessness in Phoenix, affecting thousands of people every day. Sam pointed out that many people become homeless due to situations we may not always consider such as fleeing domestic violence, becoming a widow/widower, or senior citizens with limited resources.

We are so grateful to Sam for his time and for sharing such valuable information with us about HomeAid and the crisis they are working hard to combat. HomeAid Phoenix has already begun their work by organizing an essentials drive for items like socks and blankets and are collecting donations from the community.

To donate to HomeAid Phoenix’s Wishlist, click here. To learn more about HomeAid Phoenix visit homeaidphoenix.org/

Our DollarDays family joined the Valley of the Sun United Way’s Operation Uplift event at Barcelona Elementary School in Glendale, Arizona. Operation Uplift is the United Way’s volunteer vehicle for thousands of volunteers to help strengthen schools, grow local food systems and address community needs through hard and rewarding work in Maricopa County.

Staff joined other volunteers to clean the Barcelona Elementary campus, landscape, plant, re-stripe a basketball court and create a new garden area. This was no easy task, but they did it with smiles on. Students will be able to reap the reward immediately. A big thank you to all the volunteers and to the Valley of the Sun United Way for allowing us to participate.

If you are interested in being a part of the United Way’s mission to break the cycle that creates struggles for those in our community, visit www.vsuw.org.

We recently had the honor of hosting Alexandra Jobe, Executive Director of Opportunity 4 Kids, at our corporate office to learn more about her and the organization. Originally working in retail, Alexandra has been the Executive Director of Opportunity 4 Kids for the last five years after realizing her passion lay in the nonprofit world. Opportunity 4 Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Arizona that provides valuable resources to underprivileged kids for extracurricular activities.

Many of the families Opportunity 4 Kids works with are single-parent, four-person households living off an average of $25,000 a year. As Alexandra explained, the tragic reality is, many children in these communities are enticed to join local gangs because the gangs can provide food and supervision outside of school. That is why Opportunity 4 Kids is dedicated to providing safe, fun, and educational activities that allow these children to thrive.

A new opportunity for Opportunity 4 Kids has been found in partnerships with summer camps. By working with summer camps, they have been able to provide year-round programs that combine recreation and valuable educational courses like web development. Opportunity 4 Kids is always looking to fund scholarships for the wide array of programs they facilitate and have, so far, provided 106 individual scholarships this year.

We are incredibly grateful for Alexandra’s visit and the chance to learn about this important local organization. Please visit their website to learn more about their mission and how we can all help.

To learn more about Opportunity 4 Kids’ mission, please visit www.opportunity4kids.org.

We have been conditioned that when combining the words stretch and dollar, it is an overreach or unattainable. But, what if we change the connotation of how the words are paired together? We have a mission at DollarDays to stretch your dollar so that any need is attainable. With nonprofits, we know an order for a case of soap it isn’t simply bars of soap. They may be part of hygiene kits for the homeless, distributed to those affected by a natural disaster, or offered in the school nurse’s office for a child who may not have access at home. These bars of soap can provide someone with a little hope and dignity. That is why we work as hard as we do to provide exceptional value at the lowest prices so we can support and assist more of those in need through our nonprofit partners.

As a business focused on helping with nonprofit needs, we know that sourcing quality items at low prices is imperative in supporting the ongoing programs in the community. We strive to educate ourselves on what each nonprofit is trying to accomplish. Our account managers work specifically with certain types of nonprofits so we are able to learn and concentrate on their product needs as well as develop the personal relationships that are key in building successful partnerships. By becoming experts in our partner nonprofits, our team members are able to look into specific products needed at prices that will work with and stretch the amount desired. If the budget is $100 for blankets, we want to provide as many blankets for that monetary value. By taking what we are given and stretching it, we are able to affect more positive change in our community.

Engaging with our nonprofit partners over the phone about their events and programs is important, but it is crucial for us as a company to attend and volunteer to support them and our community further. What types of supplies may be needed and what time of year? Can we order early to cut the cost and increase how many items ordered still in the designated budget? Being present and seeing how our products are used is key to our awareness of what is needed, and more importantly, assists in the support of our community. The products we carry have helped to solve many issues, but it takes manpower to put those practices into effect.

So how do we continue to grow and help our partners grow? By stretching every dollar. With no order minimums or dollar amount, we are committed to making every last cent count. Ordering wholesale with us is the ultimate way to make your money work: more items, for the same price. Our Wishlist program helps nonprofit’s register for all their needs and enables their donors to purchase any and all of their program needs at the best possible price. Looking forward to our busy season with back to school drives, we are ready to serve our partners and the Phoenix community and stretch every part of every budget line so that we can positively impact as many lives as possible.

To view the original article, click here.

If you are looking for an easy and inexpensive way to show teachers you care this holiday season, your craft search is over! These crayon wreaths are cute, customizable, and the perfect addition to any classroom. With our bulk offerings, you’ll be able to make a wreath for all your favorite teachers this year. Keep scrolling to find out how you can make your own today!

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

Begin by gathering your materials and heating your glue gun. We recommend sorting the crayons in the color order you’d like them to be displayed on the wreath.

Step 2:

Using your wreath form, trace a circle on your paper to cut. Make sure the circle is bigger than the middle of your wreath – you will glue this to the back of your wreath form later. Feel free to add a message in the middle of the cut-out circle!

Step 3:

Begin gluing your crayons to the innermost (smallest) ring of the wreath form – be sure your wreath form is facing down so that the outermost ring is touching the table and the rest of wreath curves outwards.

Step 4:

It’ time to decorate! Glue your decorations to the crayons and feel free to get as creative as you want with this.

Step 5:

Once you’ve finished gluing your crayons and decorations, carefully flip your wreath over and glue the paper to the back of the innermost circle of the wreath form.

Step 6:

Attach your wreath hanger to the top and add a cute ribbon if desired.

The end result is super fun and festive – we just love how this crayon wreath turned out! Do you have fun ideas for classroom or teacher crafts? Be sure to tag us on Instagram using the hashtag #DollarDaysDIY for a chance to be featured!

As the holidays get closer, many are inspired to give back to those in need. Whether through volunteering or a donation, everyone can make a difference this holiday season. There’s no better way to brighten the holidays than providing the gift of play through a toy donation to a less fortunate child.

DollarDays works with nonprofits throughout the U.S. to provide most-needed toys to these charitable organizations. We’ve gathered a list of the top age-appropriate toys nonprofits need.

1. 0-12 Months

Toys for newborns and infants are some of the least donated items during the winter. Help stimulate early development and fine motor skills by donating rattles, teethers, musical toys and more.

Shop 0-12 month toys here.

2. 12-24 Months

Inspire exploration and learning with building blocks, musical instruments, pull toys, puzzles and more.

Shop 12-24 month toys here.

3. 2-4 Years

Give toddlers a sense of adventure with playsets, robots, cars and stuffed animals!

Shop 2-4 year toys here.

4. 5-8 Years

Build children’s imaginations with puzzles, stuffed animals, board games, and playing cards that are perfect for early development.

Shop 5-8 years here.

5. 9-11 Years

Keep kids active with outdoor toys, remote-control vehicles, action figures and dolls, S.T.E.M. toys and more.

Shop 9-11 years here.

6. 12+ Years

Did you know pre-teens are the least-donated to age group during the holidays? Oftentimes this leads to nonprofits having to use cash donations to provide for these children. Explore personality-building toys, including electronics, fashion sets, board games, accessories and more.

Shop pre-teen and up here.

DollarDays works closely with many charitable organizations to provide every necessity they need to help them do the most good for those who need it most. If you are planning on donating toys this year, please contact your nonprofit of choice.

Visit our full range of toys at here.

With record-breaking lows this week across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., it’s time to bundle up. Temperatures were 15 to 25 degrees lower than normal, with wind chills as low as -30 degrees. Homeless shelters are scrambling to ensure no one is forgotten during this winter chill, with many of them keeping their doors open for 24 hours.

DollarDays is here to help get the right goods to those who need it most during all stages of a disaster. Current items homeless shelters need to prepare include:

How you can help:

Contact your local homeless shelter: Find out what local shelters need to prepare for the influx of people staying overnight and donate the products they need most.

Donate: Whether it’s a monetary or product donation, everyone affected will need aid to recover from the damage caused. Even the smallest donation makes a difference.

Volunteer: If you are near the Arctic Blast, contact local shelters and find out if they need an extra pair of hands to assist with shelter operations. 

Thank you,

Sources: CNN, The NY Times