Pay it Forward with Sumac Ridge
bySumac Ridge is kicking off a yearlong do-good campaign and they invited me to help them Pay it Forward this month. The Summerland, BC winery offered up $500 so that I could help out a local charity, and after touring the Dress for Success Vancouver offices last fall, they immediately came to mind.
Dress for Success Vancouver is a community empowering women into the workforce by providing them with professional attire, career services, and skills development programs. Their purpose is to offer long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty. Dress for Success is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures.
They provide each client with professional attire to secure employment, but are about much more than simply a new outfit. Besides physically equipping the client with apparel and accessories, their programs furnish her with a confidence that she carries forever and the knowledge that she can actively define her life, the direction she takes and what success means to her.
To Pay it Forward, I met with Christina Florencio from Dress for Success last week, along with Kate Colley on behalf of Sumac Ridge, and together we spent $500 on much-needed interview and office attire for clients. We then delivered our haul to volunteers in the Dress for Success sorting room, and from there the contributions will be picked up by clients.
If you think a shopping spree for yourself feels good, let me tell you that there’s no rush like a shopping spree for someone else – many others – who are all very much in need of what you’re buying!
Pay it Forward with Sumac Ridge
Throughout 2015, Sumac Ridge want to continue to Pay it Forward, and that’s where everyone else comes in. The idea is as simple as doing something nice for someone who has made you feel special. Starting in March, Sumac Ridge will share a special treat with one of their loyal supporters and from there, it will be a chain reaction. The March recipient will select April’s, the April recipient will select May’s and so on. The campaign, and those being celebrated will be shared on Sumac’s social media channels using hashtag #SUMACPIF.
Sumac Ridge will also recognize those doing good in the community by celebrating individuals nominated throughout the year on their Facebook page. British Columbians will be asked to tell the winery who deserves a “random act of kindness” and why. The winery will select 12 additional individuals to receive a “People’s Choice” giveaway in the third week of each month from March 2015 through February 2016.
For more information, and to join the conversation, find Sumac Ridge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
