Many people always try their best to help the orphans, destitute and needy through charity. However most of us do it once in a while as it is not always easy or even possible to be there most of the times. Take an example of the recent Kenyans for Kenyans initiative. Successful as is was, it will only help for this specific hunger period and a major contribution to its success is the fact that easy accessible channels were available and very many people threw in something however small. What if there was a more permanent way to give continuously without feeling any pressure on any of the parties involved?
A big problem in helping is finding the right channel to give. Sometimes even if there exists a channel to give, one may not have enough to make an impact by themselves. Consider the scenario below.
Whenever one goes to a supermarket especially the big chains, they are usually asked whether they have a smart card if they make a reasonably big purchase so that they gain loyalty points for shopping. In many cases it is such that whatever you are buying is quite small and so it is not practical to swipe your card, assuming you have one. Many people do not also have these cards though free, or they may have forgotten yet this scenario is an excellent opportunity to give.
Picture this. If there was a card for a particular let’s say children’s home that was attached to a particular supermarket branch. Let’s christen the home “Watoto Children’s Home” and the supermarket “Bidhaa Moto Moto Supermarket” for illustration purposes. So there is an agreement between Bidhaa Moto Moto Supermarket and Watoto Children’s home such that any time a customer doesn’t have a smart card or they have forgotten theirs the Watoto card is swiped instead or a smart point account at Bidhaa for Watoto is credited since there is more than one cashier so you need more than one card in order to capture every possible point. At the end of each month or a reasonable period, Watoto may purchase stuff they need from Bidhaa Moto Moto Supermarket using the collected points just as you would when redeeming your points.
To the customers this will become their contribution to charity however small. Moreover, a customer who is aware of this arrangement may once in a while forfeit taking the points for themselves and contribute them to Watoto if they feel the need to give. To Watoto Children’s Home which is attached to a branch of Bidhaa Supermarket or supermarket chain, this would mean another source of much-needed income to secure basic needs. Why then would Bidhaa Supermarket agree to this idea you would now be asking? This is an excellent opportunity to practice CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) for Bidhaa Supermarket and also assist where limited or no methods for assistance existed before. It will also complement the coin collection tins at the cashiers into which you may or may not throw in those 3 shillings you got for change and instead took a sweet and 2 Mr. Berries.
What’s more the population is at breaking point and these people have to purchase at supermarkets and new malls are coming up everywhere you look. What if the idea becomes successful at one supermarket? I am sure we would all enjoy the domino effect as all the others followed suit. So if you are affiliated with a children’s home or similar and believe in possibilities why not take up this idea as your own and approach an appropriate supermarket.
Any views, criticism, more ideas, initiatives or comments are welcome to further refine this idea and help make it reality if turns out to be sound.
