While many are focusing on the excitement of Thanksgiving and other upcoming holidays, there are Americans wondering where they will sleep or eat their next meal. November is Homelessness Awareness Month and at DollarDays we are always looking to better serve more people. That is why we recently welcomed the executive director of HomeAid Phoenix, Sam Levyas, to our office.
HomeAid’s goal is to “provide safe, stable, dignified housing and the supports needed to get individuals and families back on their feet.” As of 2017, 27% of the homeless population in Arizona is comprised of families with children. In 2018, homelessness grew by 10.3%, which was the 5th largest increase in the country.
HomeAid is collecting socks and blankets from November 13th through December 11th as they are the most needed items for those experiencing homelessness in the winter months. To kick off their new presence in Phoenix, DollarDays will be donating 360 pairs of socks and encourage others to donate as well.
To donate to HomeAid Phoenix’s Wishlist, clickhere. To learn more about HomeAid Phoenix visit http://homeaidphoenix.org/
As teachers and students head into the second half of the year, they are in desperate need of school supplies. Many start off the year at already low levels, and after half a year of wear and tear, need a replenishment of essentials. Amarillo Downtown Kiwanis Chapter’s school and hygiene supply stuffing project focused on providing hope to children living in difficult places.
Traci Rogers, the Executive Director of No Boundaries International and a member of the Amarillo Downtown Kiwanis chapter, explains, “The amazing part for us is that as we’ve had the chance to receive feedback from the children – For example, ‘I got my OWN toothbrush’ or ‘Now I can color because I got crayons’ or ‘I get to wash my hair tonight because I got shampoo!!’. What an impact that has had on our team.” She added, “Through this project students recognize that there are people that believe in them and see the worth in them.”
DollarDays is ready to service all of your backpack, pencils, pens, markers, paper and hygiene needs. Let’s rally around our students and help with all their classroom necessities.
With seventeen wildfires actively burning, 94,000+ acres burned and more than 1,000,000 people without power over the weekend, California needs our help more than ever. Caused by historic winds, dry fuel and drought, containing the fires throughout the state is looking to be a near-impossible task. In Sonoma County alone, more than 200,000 residents have been displaced from their homes.
Many of our nonprofit partners are rushing to aid those displaced. It is our goal to get the right goods to those who need it most during all stages of a disaster.
Current critically needed items by Californians include:
Contact your local nonprofit: Find out what initiatives local nonprofits are taking to help California, and donate the products they need most.
Donate: Whether it’s a monetary or product donation, firefighters, relief workers and victims will all need aid to rebuild and recover from the damage caused. Even the smallest donation makes a difference.
Volunteer: If you are near an area affected by these fires, contact local shelters and find out if they need an extra pair of hands to assist with shelter operations.
Remember your first day of school following summer break? Fresh haircut, new clothes and shoes, and of course… the best part of ending summer break: shopping for new school supplies to put in your new backpack!
Well, you helped make that possible for CASA youth this season with your generous donations! VOICES thanks every individual and organization who contributed to this season’s Back-to-School Drive ~ there were so many of you who took it to heart! Thanks to you, more than 200 CASA youth received a boost of confidence to start the year off right! Many of the CASA youth were able to receive their new items on the field of the Arizona Cardinals stadium!
(Photo: above left – Kappa Alpha Theta & Dollar Days donated a mound of supplies; above right – the “Community Committee” at Westin Kierland Resort worked with the entire resort staff to purchase brand new backpacks filled with lots of supplies!)
For many people, Hurricane Season is a worrisome time that requires proper preparation. Creating a basic emergency kit is a great way to make sure you and your family have the right essentials when disaster strikes. We’ve put together a list of 10 essential items for hurricane preparedness to pack in your emergency kit:
1. Food
Sometimes the most obvious choice is the right one. It’s always great to have a full supply of non-perishable food items in the case of an evacuation.
Shop non-perishable food here.
2. Flashlights
It’s hard to know, exactly, what damages a storm will cause, so it’s important to have a good flashlight in case the power goes out.
A hurricane can cause a wide variety of issues for you and your home. Having a compact, multi-purpose tool can be incredibly helpful for a variety of tasks.
Blankets are a versatile and necessary piece of any emergency kit. Shop blankets for every family member, including fleece blankets, baby and pet-sized blankets and survival blankets.
Keeping the family entertained and distracted provides peace of mind and a level of normalcy during a difficult time. Explore children and adult coloring books, board games, toys and activities.
Hurricanes can completely upend one’s life. Having copies of your important, personal documents stored safely, can make all the difference when rebuilding.
DollarDays works closely with many national and local disaster-relief organizations and is proud to offer these critically needed items to those who need it most.
In May 2018, just as school was about to close for the summer, thousands of teachers in Arizona walked out of their classrooms, joining educators in the “Red for Ed” movement in protest of stagnant salaries and the lack of funding for school supplies.
According to a federal Department of Education survey, 94 percent of public school teachers in the United States pay for supplies without reimbursement, spending an average of $479 per school year. The Education Market Association also found that $1.6 billion in school supplies is pushed onto teachers every year, with one in 10 teachers spending more than $1,000 of their own money.
Among these teachers is Monica Baird, an educator and entrepreneur in Phoenix.
“Leaving the business world and becoming a teacher was amazing,” said Baird. “Like many of the educators I know, I feel like teaching is something that I was born to do.”
After her first year of teaching, however, Baird calculated that she spent over $1,700 on her classroom and supplies. While she loved being in the classroom with her students, she struggled with the financial commitment.
“My passion for teaching meant that I also put a lot of my own resources into my classroom,” Baird explained. “At first, I was happy and excited to purchase the supplies, especially when I thought there was a tax write-off. Unfortunately, I learned too late that the most I could write off was $250.”
Building a better way
Baird wanted to find a better, easier way for teachers to get the classroom supplies they wanted and needed without spending too much of their own money. She also wanted to help teachers save time – after all, there isn’t a lot of time for shopping for supplies following a busy day of running their classrooms, organizing their curricula and managing their families.
“It was clear that teachers need a better, more affordable way to purchase the supplies that they use in their classrooms, so I decided to build it,” said Baird.
From her personal experience and her desire to innovate, Baird created ScholarsDollar.com, an educator-only online community where teachers can buy affordable products for their classrooms and open their own stores to sell or exchange extra classroom items they no longer need.
For teachers only
Baird officially launched ScholarsDollar.com in 2018. The site is only for educators, requiring members to send in their teacher certifications before they can join. Once validated, the teachers have full access to the site and the low-cost classroom and party supplies, toys, books and other academic products.
“The initial response from teachers was overwhelming, so I knew I had something that was needed in the marketplace,” stated Baird. “While it’s challenging to teach and run a business, I am passionate about ScholarsDollar.com, and I am committed to doing something that helps educators.”
Partnering with DollarDays has shined a whole new light in terms of what I can offer my customers and community.
Monica Baird, Owner & Founder, Scholars Dollar
Quality matters to teachers
As Baird was looking for places to purchase products, she came across DollarDays. DollarDays offers thousands of bulk school supplies, from colored pencils to backpacks. Since 2007, DollarDays has sold more than four million backpacks, four million pairs of scissors and 11 million boxes of crayons.
“Teachers want the best products for their classrooms because they know they will last longer and endure the many little hands that use them,” Baird explained. “Partnering with DollarDays has shined a whole new light in terms of what I can offer my customers and community.”
Saving quality teachers
Baird is building ScholarsDollar.com to be an exclusive service that educators around the country will want to join. Her online store delivers high-quality, low-cost products that teachers need for their classrooms while also developing an engaging community for educators to connect, collaborate and potentially earn money by building their own stores. Ultimately, Baird sees ScholarsDollar.com as one more way to keep good teachers in the classroom.
“We are losing too many quality educators that love teaching due to low salaries and the burden of funding their own classroom supplies,” said Baird. “I see ScholarsDollar.com as a means to help save these teachers, keep them in the classroom and benefit the lives of many children.”
She added, “The average teacher spends nearly $500 a year in classroom expenses. With DollarDays’ help, if I can help 125 teachers in Phoenix, I can collectively save them over $62,000 this school year. The opportunity to help even more teachers is exciting, and it is why I envision ScholarsDollar.com becoming the one-stop school supplies shop for educators everywhere.”
Ronald C. Pruett, Jr., DollarDays CEO, with Monica Baird of Scholars Dollar
Monica Baird of Scholars Dollars visits the DollarDays headquarters in Phoenix
Customer service, quality and delivering a great value are critical to DollarDays’ success, and we focus on them every day, so whenever we are recognized for our efforts, we celebrate.
SAGE promotional products distributors recently recognized DollarDays as among the best suppliers in the industry. DollarDays received an “A” from distributors based on ratings collected through the PPAI network for SAGE Online, SAGE Web and SAGE Mobile. The award recognizes companies for quality, customer service and product safety.
How important is this award?
“Distributors in the promotional products industry have complicated businesses and transactions,” said Michael Stringer, Vice President and General Manager of America’s Suppliers, parent company of DollarDays. “Because these relationships are business-to-business-to-consumer, they tend to be larger orders with many moving parts and operationally complex, and require fine-tuning, as well as high degrees of product knowledge and execution. These ratings help distributors determine which suppliers to use for their promotional product needs.”
SAGE President, David Natinsky, said, “We treat our Supplier Rating Awards with the utmost respect, because they are a testament to each supplier’s dedication to product safety and customer service. This is why we’re so proud to recognize our award-winning suppliers for setting the standard of quality and integrity in the promotional products industry.”
Putting our customers first
While DollarDays is known for its work with global nonprofit organizations, we’re also one of the largest promotional products suppliers in the country. We work with thousands of promotional products distributors, and we maintain an inventory of 30,000 wholesale items from which businesses and organizations can choose.
Congratulations to the entire DollarDays team for the “A” rating, industry recognition and for continuing to put customers first.
If you follow DollarDays on its social media platforms, you know how hard we work to help nonprofits stretch their donation dollars. Since 2007, we’ve assisted charitable organizations with their holiday outreach efforts by supplying more than 1.2 million blankets, five million pairs of socks and four million backpacks.
Offering affordable, wholesale products for nonprofits and their recipients is just one way we’re contributing to our communities, though; DollarDays also makes it a mission to donate its team where needed through the DollarDays DonationDays Program. Similar to programs at Fortune 500 companies, DonationDays encourages all DollarDays employees to give time in meaningful service to Arizonan nonprofit organizations.
Spreading goodwill Valleywide
The DonationDays Program launched in January 2018 and is currently spearheaded by Jim Jacobs, DollarDays’ Chief Financial Officer. According to Jacobs, “Many of our employees are already contributing in a number of ways to a variety of worthy causes. By taking advantage of our DonationDays Program, they can now use two paid workdays to spend time supporting organizations and promoting the DollarDays mission. From the Phoenix Rescue Mission to Strikes for Kids, we appreciate all that our team members have done to help local programs. We can and want to grow our influence across the region.”
Some of the Phoenix-area organizations benefitting from DonationDays year to date include:
Recently, DollarDays team members Joe Belcher, Gabe Sandoval and Frank Albanese volunteered with the Valley of the Sun United Way, donating time in support of a local service project.
“We had a great time helping the United Way,” said Belcher, one of the company’s Inside Sales Representatives. “The DonationDays Program makes volunteering and helping local organizations even more rewarding. As a company, we’re in the business of supporting nonprofits every day. It’s nice to also be able to give our time to make a difference. It’s great to know that DollarDays allows us to practice what we preach.”
Participation is easy
DonationDays is open to all employees who have been with the company for more than three months. Team members are encouraged to use two paid workdays every year to support Phoenix-area causes.
“We appreciate our team members taking and sharing photos of their volunteer activities so that we can spread the goodness with our partners and other local organizations in and around Phoenix,” explained Jacobs. “There is tremendous potential for doing good from the team within the walls of DollarDays. Together, we can make a difference in our communities.”
After the holidays, back-to-school shopping is the second-largest spending season of the year. The average household spends nearly $688 annually on school supplies, new clothing, and electronics like laptops and calculators, according to the National Retail Federation. With school supply lists getting longer and costs rising, more and more parents are searching for quality items at a reasonable price. With this in mind, we’ve outlined four of our favorite money saving tips for the back-to-school shopping season.
1. Do Your Research
Walking into a brick-and-mortar store may encourage you to buy items that aren’t on your list. Why not save time (and money) and hit the web? Nearly 40 percent of parents will turn to the Internet for back-to-school shopping in 2018, the National Retail Federation predicts. The reasons vary, but two stand out – for one, online retailers specializing in back-to-school products typically negotiate lower prices than traditional retailers. Secondly, purchasing school supplies online enables you to ship your order directly to your door, saving you a trip to the store (or multiple stores). Beyond internet research, ask other parents where they buy school supplies and where they’ve seen the best deals.
2. Buy in Bulk
Back-to-school basics such as paper, pens, folders and pencils are available in large quantities at lower prices. Stocking up on these fundamentals will allow you to supply your student(s) throughout the year. We recommend purchasing bulk school supplies online so the larger boxes can be delivered to you. Our exclusive Big Box™ line of school supplies is a great bulk option, with quantities ranging from 150 units to 500 units per box. Plus, if you have leftover supplies at the end of the year, consider donating them to your student’s school or teacher.
3. Buy Now, Save Later
The back-to school rush typically begins in late July, giving parents a limited amount of time to purchase mandatory school supplies. This short period is often chaotic and stressful, and the last-minute rushing can cause families to exceed their budgets. Consider shopping throughout the year for items that can be used year-round, like pencils, notebooks and even crayons, as many retailers choose to have school-supply promotions during the off-peak season.
4. Shared Classroom Supplies
Classroom supplies are a newer addition to many school supply lists, and a growing number of teachers now request for incoming students to bring shareable items such as tissues, cleaning supplies and washable markers. Rather than increasing your household spend, team up with other parents and invest together. Several of these products can be purchased in large case packs known as “classpacks.” Get your student’s class quality products without breaking the bank.
We hope these tips help you save more this back-to-school season. As a reminder, if you have a surplus of back-to-school items, including backpacks, consider donating them to your local teachers or schools.
While planning for a natural disaster may seem daunting, it’s imperative to have a strategy in place. Beyond wreaking havoc on the land, disasters can disrupt both global and local supply chains through missed deliveries, logistics snags and supply shortages. Nonprofits are often one of the first to assist with the relief and recovery process, and it can be difficult for these groups to develop a plan for procuring the right goods to help those affected. With our charitable organizations in mind, we’re laying out the steps you need to take to build a strong sourcing strategy.
Create
Prior to cultivating a relationship with a potential sourcing partner, it’s important to consider the following:
Budget: Does your organization have a dedicated budget for disaster-relief efforts? Allocating funds prior to a disaster is crucial, as you’ll be able to respond quickly and acquire essential items.
Past Contributions: Where did you send resources previously, and what types of resources did you provide? Referencing this information will help you know which items were in demand during past emergency situations, including when they were needed most.
Forecasting Needs: Use your organization’s historical data to identify trends, such as whether you allotted the majority of your contributions to your community or to global events.
Develop
While you may not have a warehouse to store the supplies you’ve sourced throughout the year, a strategic partner will. This partner also can assist with expediting products, sourcing specific items, and routing your resources to the right places during a disaster. These benefits are invaluable, as relief groups often look to procure similar items, which can deplete inventories and further impact the supply chain.
Road Map: It’s critical to have a plan in place for your supply chain efforts to ensure you’re prepared to send relief and recovery items when disaster strikes – or even before.
Communication: During a disaster, seamless communication is essential. All critical departments need to be properly informed to ensure your disaster-relief efforts aren’t delayed.
Execute
You have a plan in place and it’s time to act. What are your next steps?
Breathe: Take a moment to analyze the situation and develop an understanding of the disaster. You’ll need to know what challenges the disaster may pose and identify alternatives as applicable. Maintain a professional presence to diffuse emotional responses around you and keep everyone within your team focused on the plan.
Send Supplies: Determine where to send your supplies by reaching out to partners, local officials, your volunteer network or emergency services. It’s critical your resources are sent to the right place at the right time.
Rate Your Response
Contact your sourcing partner and take note of any procurement challenges you faced during the disaster. Make adjustments to your plan based on new solutions for future disaster-relief efforts. Wholesale partners like DollarDays can work with you to create a sourcing plan and provide a network of warehouses from which to source.
Conclusion
Preparing for a disaster is all about understanding your organization’s needs and having the right partners in place ahead of time to help you execute your initiatives. DollarDays can streamline sourcing of critically needed products to ensure they reach those who need them the most.
