Wegmans, Driscoll's Promote Strawberries and Higher Education
A joint promotion from Wegmans Food Markets and Driscoll's Berries aims to help some at-risk Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. high school students graduate, according to a published account. For every package of Driscoll’s strawberries sold at Wegmans stores from July 13 through July 20, the supplier will donate 50 cents, up to a maximum of $15,000, to Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection.
The work-study program, which Robert and Danny Wegman started 21 years ago and passed on to Hillside a few years later, provides mentoring and work experience for students who might otherwise drop out of school due to such issues poor grades, low attendance rates, or multiple school suspensions.
Wegmans created all of the promotional materials for the campaign this year, even holding a photo shoot featuring actual teenagers enrolled in the Hillside program, Judy Carey, Wegmans' community relations team leader, told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
To reach the $15,000 limit, Wegmans and Driscoll's would have to sell 30,000 packages of strawberries, which Carey saw as a highly achievable goal, given last year's strawberry sales during the same time period.
"This is the peak of the season for strawberries, so we want to come up with innovative ways to try and, of course, sell our fruit, but also support the relationships that we have with partners like Wegmans," noted Jennifer Fancher, a manager at Watsonville, Calif.-based Driscoll's who works with Wegmans.
A similar joint effort last year between Driscoll's, Wegmans, and another community service organization last year raised the full $15,000.
The work-study program, which Robert and Danny Wegman started 21 years ago and passed on to Hillside a few years later, provides mentoring and work experience for students who might otherwise drop out of school due to such issues poor grades, low attendance rates, or multiple school suspensions.
Wegmans created all of the promotional materials for the campaign this year, even holding a photo shoot featuring actual teenagers enrolled in the Hillside program, Judy Carey, Wegmans' community relations team leader, told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
To reach the $15,000 limit, Wegmans and Driscoll's would have to sell 30,000 packages of strawberries, which Carey saw as a highly achievable goal, given last year's strawberry sales during the same time period.
"This is the peak of the season for strawberries, so we want to come up with innovative ways to try and, of course, sell our fruit, but also support the relationships that we have with partners like Wegmans," noted Jennifer Fancher, a manager at Watsonville, Calif.-based Driscoll's who works with Wegmans.
A similar joint effort last year between Driscoll's, Wegmans, and another community service organization last year raised the full $15,000.