Retailers Add Causes to Their Christmas Cheer

Retailers are spreading good will this holiday season through a variety of cause-related campaigns. Among the activity:Sears, Roebuck & Co. raises money for the National Military Family Association with a charity auction hosted by online retailer eBay. Consumers can bid to buy a dinner with Ty Pennington, host of ABC series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, or items including a Kenmore refrigerator and a home entertainment system. (Sears sponsors Extreme Makeover.) Proceeds from the auction go to a special NMFA program to provide summer camp for children of military personnel. Target is selling "Thanks & Giving" gift cards to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Shoppers are encouraged to purchase a $30 gift card from which $5 is automatically donated to St. Jude; Target matches each donation. The retailer also is hosting "wish lists" at target.com that consumers can use to buy presents for St. Jude patients. Drugstore chain CVS is inviting shoppers to donate $1 to St. Jude at checkout. Meijer is donating up to $200,000 to the U.S. Marines' Toys for Tots program. Up to $150,000 of the total will come from PepsiCo, which is donating 50 cents for every Pepsi or Frito-Lay product sold. The remaining $50,000 is funded by packaged good manufacturers including Unilever, S.C. Johnson, Kellogg Co., and M&M/Mars in exchange for eligible purchases.Best Buy returns for a fourth consecutive year as exclusive sponsor of the Toys for Teens program, which invites shoppers to contribute with a gift or cash donation. Staples is hosting a "Staplers of the Stars" online charity auction (at cmarket.com) through which consumers can bid on staplers autographed by celebrities including Bill Gates and Tiger Woods. Proceeds go to charities designated by the celebrities. Barnes & Noble and Verizon Wireless are teaming for a "Season's Readings" campaign, which aims to donate one million books to needy children. Barnes & Noble is promoting the campaign with activity including a reading of Frosty the Snowman by actor James Earl Jones at a store in New York City. Kohl's is donating proceeds from the sale of select merchandise (including an exclusive plush animal from toy manufacturer Gund) to designated children's hospitals. Ulta, a cosmetics retailer with 150 stores in 18 states, is selling plush toys to raise money for the Make-a-Wish foundation.

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