Whole Foods Staff “gets it”

Head on over to Whole Foods Poplar’s blog and read the staff’s kind and incredibly astute words about Habitat for Hope. We are so excited about our partnership with them!

Lead by Example

Recently we were awarded 5% Day at Whole Foods here in Memphis.  Quarterly, the branches are given the chance to choose a nonprofit to award these collected proceeds.  We applied to be selected, made it through round 1 of the selection process and were notified that we were invited to share our mission and vision along with 2 other local nonprofits.  I arrived dressed in my typical blue jeans and blazer, and was surprised to find out that the meeting was OUTSIDE.  Not only was it outside…I also discovered that the three presenting groups were speaking before the entire staff.   I was immediately impressed with their inclusion of the whole staff – and thrilled when we learned the staff voted for Habitat for hope!

I stayed for a while to observe their meeting, and loved the way they built community among the staff and management, and created a fun, lively and encouraging environment.  A few take-homes for me:

  • They were a multi-cultural and diverse group.
  • The energy was awesome – pre-meeting announcements shared about exciting news, giveaways that night, a hotdog eating competition, all while the band warmed up.
  • They CELEBRATED the new staff and gave them an opportunity on an open mic to share about themselves.
  • They CELEBRATED successes and achievements.
  • They have created a culture of ownership among their employees.
  • They empowered their staff by giving them the ability to choose where their charity dollars are given.
  • They made clear statements about the local branch of a major corporation impacting the Memphis community.
  • They did not talk about profit margins, sales reports, policies and failures.

We are honored to be Whole Foods’ charity of choice on September 14th.  Save up your monthly shopping for Tuesday, September 14th and share in what promises to be a fun day at Whole Foods Poplar!

Where does my money go?

Habitat for Hope is unique in that all donated funds go directly to programs and services. Our staff members raise their support independently of the charity – which reduces our overhead cost to less than 5% of funds.

What can your donation provide?

$25 provides a fun toy, book or art supply gift to a child in the hospital

$40 provides a restaurant meal for a family of four

$100 provides gasoline for a family to drive 150 miles round trip for an appointment

$300 pays for a sponsorship to our yearly respite retreat for moms

$500 provides much-needed car care and rehab so families can transport safely

$1000 provides one month of free housing with included utilities in an apartment

$5000 can purchase a share in one of our new 1200 square foot homes that will be built on the HFH property

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Pick our Costumes!


Tucker and Becky Davis and Mark and I are competing in an adventure race for Habitat for Hope this weekend in Nashville, TN! We are on relay teams and get to wear any possible costume. We would LOVE for you to help us meet our fundraising goal of $5000 – only $2,875 to go!

So in order to meet our goal, we are offering a REWARD – the two largest donations recieved between now and Friday, May 21st get the privilege of picking our team costumes!! Help us help HFH and get to embarrass us in the process! What could be better?

Click HERE to make your donation…

And for more info on where your donation goes, please visit this blog post.