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The concept of our Foundation is a combination of ideas and programs that the Lake Region IGA and Hawley Market IGA, both in Hawley, PA, have run in the past. The name originates from the physical location of our main store, which is located about a half mile from Lake Wallenpaupack. This man-made lake has about a dozen public access areas, and is loaded with private boat docks along its shore line. Our slogan has become, “tie up with us at our dock to help make our community better”. Our foundation has been designed to serve two functions, one: to fund non-profit organizations in our community and two: to help families in need! Money for this foundation is generated in three ways; one: 1% rebate on purchases designated to the non-profit that has registered with the Preferred Customer Card program, Two: fund raisers such as our KidsFest events and golf outings, and three: we contribute 2 cents from every IGA product that we sell. This has become a new way for us to promote the IGA branding in our community, while giving much needed support to families that need it the most! We kicked off the Foundation in June 2007 with the start of our IGA Kidsfest event. Then in July we rolled in the 2 cent program from IGA products. The non-profits now have a new streamlined way of collecting funds via the Preferred Customer Card Program. First they register as a non-profit; then they have customers sign up their Preferred Customer card to that account. When that customer uses their card while shopping, the sale dollars from that transaction will electronically be added to that non-profit’s account! Every quarter we pull those totals and cut a check for one percent of the accumulated sales. Money raised from our special events and the 2 cent program is strictly earmarked for helping families in need and special projects. Customers, who are looking to help a family or friend, do so by filling out a Donation Request Form. Here they fill in all the necessary information pertaining to each individual family’s situation. The Foundation committee then reviews each request and determines if it is a valid situation that they can help with. Based on funds available and the number of requests being considered, a check will then be sent directly to that family.
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