Wal-Mart & the Children’s Miracle Network

The Courage to Cause Positive Change

The Situation
Children’s Hospitals are always looking for funding beyond their traditional means of endowments, grants and donations. While unfortunate for the children who require their services, sometimes these families become the strongest ambassadors and best resources for making a positive difference in the lives of others through their attitude, actions and words.

When Always Positive developed its first clothing line it found favor as a fund-raising program for schools. Shortly after, a Wal-Mart District Manager in San Diego caught wind of the clothing line. During a fact finding meeting the District Manager shared stories about her personal relationship with Rady’s Children’s Hospital in San Diego and how Wal-Mart was a national sponsor of the Children’s Miracle Network, a network of over 170 Children Hospitals.

The Opportunity
Getting involved with Wal-Mart and the Children’s Miracle Network was significant, because bringing people and organizations together to make a positive difference in the world they touch by spreading a message of hope is what we are all about. Our job was not that of a fund-raising company, but as an integrated marketer that needed to combine a unique business opportunity with a kindhearted retailer and a worthy cause to bring hope to the less fortunate.

Always Positive created a retail product line with a hangtag that read “Wal-Mart is proud to donate $1.00 of every sale of Always Positive merchandise to Children’s Hospital”. Always Positive solicited the support of various professional athletes to bring awareness and media attention to the campaign, while Wal-Mart provided the retail outlet and The Children’s Miracle Network provided marketing support and hospital contacts.

The Results
Wal-Mart generated over $15,000 for Children’s Hospital in the first three months from just nine San Diego store locations. Over the course of the year Always Positive and The Children’s Miracle Network introduced the campaign to an additional 50 Wal-Mart stores in five states, which was followed by an additional 300 Wal-Mart store locations the following year. During the campaign Always Positive helped Wal-Mart generate more than $130,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Bonus Result

The Children’s Miracle Network introduced Always Positive to The Eckerd’s Corporation (now Rite Aid Pharmacy).  Eckerd’s responded by purchasing 120,000 Father’s Day gift boxes for over 30,000 store locations generating over $120,000 dollars for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Always Positive found a creative way to bring people and organizations together to make a positive difference in the world they touched by spreading a message of hope.  By helping The Children’s Miracle Network generate over $250,000 through its existing corporate partners Always Positive was also named a “Corporate Champion”.