Dear Heaven Maker:
I’ve bought several pairs of shoes over the years at a runner’s store in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, called aerobics first.
The owner is Luke MacDonald and we’ve spoken many times about the store’s strategic community outreach programs.
Luke noticed that homeless people in Halifax often had old, badly fitting shoes. What could he do?
He also had a problem with a growing number of shoes that he had brought in for customers which, for various reasons, the customers didn’t take – the shoes were odd sizes, or too small, or too big. This was taking up valuable storage space in the store’s basement, which limited the amount of new stock he could bring in. It was what he called ‘Corporate Litter.’ What could he do?
Watch this video to see the simple, elegant, and powerful strategy he came up with.
Luke then took the same idea to several of his suppliers and ended up, over four years, with 4,000 pairs of donated shoes!
This ‘Corporate Litter’ that was going to be thrown away now provided a win for: homeless people, aerobics first, his employees, and his suppliers.
Luke, thanks for being an Agent of Heaven on Earth!
How can you use the aerobics first model for corporate litter in your business?
Thanks,
Martin
More information on aerobics first here.
See all their community involvement here.
Martin Rutte
