Crate and Barrel raises $50k for the Highland Park Community Foundation

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On July 4th in Highland Park, Illinois, a tragic shooting killed seven people at an Independence Day parade.

For the team at Crate and Barrel, the tragedy hit close to home. Highland Park is right next door to their corporate headquarters, and several associates live in the town. The associates and their families, as well as the whole community, were deeply affected.

The Crate and Barrel team wanted to do something to support their neighbors.

“There was the external community aspect of being a good corporate citizen in our local community, and there was also an internal aspect with our own associates,” says Jill Assad, who leads corporate communications.

The team decided to raise $50,000 for the Highland Park Community Foundation by running, walking, or biking 50,000 miles.

Crate and Barrel tied the initiative into their wellness month in August.

“We were thinking about different facets of wellness,” says Jasmine Turner, who works with Jill on corporate communications. “Of course, there’s the physical one. But then there’s also community wellness and trying to be a good neighbor. Highland Park is right next to our corporate headquarters, so we wanted to support them and encourage associates to not just be a good neighbor to our corporate neighbor, but to their own neighbors as well.”

Jill and Jasmine looked for a tool to use and found Charity Miles. They liked how the app tied together different aspects of wellness: physical, mental, and community giving.

After a month of working together, the Crate and Barrel team met their goal of 50,000 miles in the last hour.

“We came in hot!” laughs Jasmine.

People joined together in teams, did lunch walks with colleagues, and tried different types of fitness like swimming.

Jasmine and Jill wanted to encourage everyone, even those who aren’t usually very active.

“The incentives weren’t based on being at the top of the leaderboard, but on how you progress,” Jasmine explains. “If you had five miles last week and you increased it to 30 miles this week, that’s great.”

“We liked how Charity Miles gave us a democratized experience,” adds Jill. “Of our 8,500 associates, we have 4,000 in stores and roughly 2,000 in distribution and fulfillment centers. It’s hard to find ways we can all rally as a team and work towards the same goal because we have different shifts and different types of work.

“This was a way for us to all work together towards something that built community and connectivity, even though we weren’t all sitting in the same place.”

“It generated good excitement!” says Jasmine. “It gave us a reason to get outside and move.”

We’re proud that Charity Miles could help the Crate and Barrel team come together to support their neighboring city in a time of need.  #EveryMileMatters

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