Someone once told Hamilton County Reporter Publisher Stu Clampitt you can tell what someone cares about by looking at their day planner and their bank statement. By that metric, Kroger, Duke Energy, and The Reporter all care about Prevail, Inc.
On Tuesday, March 10, representatives from Kroger, Duke, and The Reporter took the time to meet with Prevail Inc. Executive Director Tami Wanninger to present a $3,000 donation in the form of both money and Kroger gift cards.
“It was all Eric Halvorson’s idea,” Clampitt said. “When The Reporter was looking for advertisers for our special edition to commemorate the Carmel Girls Swim Team’s 40th consecutive state championship, Eric asked if he could pay for Kroger’s ad with gift cards to be donated to a local nonprofit. Prevail was The Reporter’s first thought.”
After checking to make sure the special edition would not go into the red after a donation, Clampitt reached out to Duke Energy Government and Community Relations Manager Mark LaBarr to ask if he’d like to do something similar. LaBarr agreed immediately.
The final piece of the puzzle came after the special edition was delivered. After doing the math on very reasonable press fees, over-priced postage, and paying the people who put the special edition together, The Reporter chipped in almost every dollar left from that edition, bringing the total donation from all three companies up to $3,000.
“Please don’t think this is just Kroger, Duke, and The Reporter helping Prevail,” Clampitt said. “The Reporter’s part of this donation comes from everyone who advertised in that special edition. We could not have done this without Gaylor Electric CEO Chuck Goodrich, Merchants Bank, Carmel Fire Auxiliary, The Committee to Elect Chris Barrows, Friends of Mark Hall, Pasto Italiano, and the Nickel Plate Express.”
Eric Halvorson, Manager of Public Affairs for the Central Division of The Kroger Company, said he wanted to find an easy way to make a difference.
“I just love the opportunity to help people and sometimes we have to be a little creative in how we finance it,” Halvorson said. “This gave us the opportunity to offer some gift cards that we know can make a difference in the lives of the people served by Prevail. I thought this was an easy way for us to help put some food on the table and make a difference for the people who desperately need the services at Prevail every day of the year.”
For Halvorson, it was about helping in the most efficient way possible.
“Food is the easiest way for Kroger to help make a difference,” Halvorson said. “We can send checks sometimes, which we do for the food banks, but if we can give you a gift card, you can go out and get what you need when you need it. That seems to make perfect sense from our standpoint for the speed and efficiency they represent.”
For Mark LaBarr, it is about helping the whole community be stronger.
“Duke Energy thrives when our communities thrive,” LaBarr said. “Anytime that we can help those among us who need it, that helps our community thrive.”
Wanninger said the combination of gift cards and money was more helpful than just one or the other would have been alone.
“So many of our victims and survivors come to us for domestic violence and other issues, but they have other needs as well,” Wanninger said. “They need food, they need hotel stays, they need those various things when they leave their situations. These gift cards help us to be able to serve our clients and really meet their holistic needs so they can be on their journey to healing.”
According to Wanninger, the money will go into Prevail’s flex funding program. From that account, Prevail can purchase gas cards, more grocery cards, pay for hotel stays for clients who need emergency housing, and sometimes even car repairs.
“It’s through all those various things that we can break those barriers for individuals to keep them out of those abusive situations,” Wanninger said.
Prevail, Inc. helps people during moments in their lives when they need it most. Prevail supports survivors of all ages throughout their journey. The organization specializes in working with adults, teens, and children who have experienced trauma. All services are free of charge, confidential, and available in English and Español.
If you’d like to demonstrate your priorities with your own day planner and checkbook, take a few minutes out of your day to go online to prevailinc.org/donate, then give either a one-time or a recurring donation to help provide healing and hope to survivors.