18/05/2020 - Fermob continues to operate and deliver quality outdoor furniture, lighting and accessories during the Covid crisis. At the same time, its team in the US, taking cues from leadership abroad, have been quietly giving back.
"We have found that during these trying times, in addition to meeting our customers' needs that giving back to our community provides purpose and energizes us," says Leslie Thompson, COO, Fermob USA.
The team is following the example set by Bernard Reybier, CEO Fermob who humbly offered words of hope to his team and affiliates as well as the company's own supplies of 3D visors, masks and painting suits to local hospitals and health facilities.
When Fermob USA's retail division reached out to the dealers in the US as part of checking in, they were inspired by the individual efforts to help from her team. Some are giving directly through grass roots efforts to local charities and others have developed their own creative fundraising efforts and rolled up their sleeves to help those most vulnerable.
"...While we are confined (and may be still be confined in the future) everything appears different to us: quieter, more fragrant, more colorful, we see things we had overlooked before or took for granted. We find joie de vivre ("joy of living") present in the intimacy of our families, our homes, our gardens. My conviction is that Joie de vivre will be even more essential in the future than ever before. We need to look for joy in our daily life: in our daily meetings, a smile, a hello to a stranger." Bernard Reybier.
Jude Cottingham Sieber, owner of the California based shop, Emily Joubert Home & Garden, has been spear-heading daily grassroots donations supporting front line workers at Stanford Hospital through an initiative, #onceaday. Since April 1st, neighbors regularly drop off food, notes, and goodies, for Sieber to deliver to the front lines.
"We are hoping to spread some light and hope in our community by partnering with Fermob USA to give away a Balad lantern to the first 12 people to donate $500 or more to Heart of the Hamptons. I was happy to volunteer packing bags of food for the over 220 families that Heart of the Hamptons will help feed this week. Our community appreciates the support of Fermob USA and those who donate!" Shannon Willey, Sea Green Designs, Southhampton New York.
Michelle and Greg Martin (Kolo Collection) heard about a few families desperate for food after school closings, and created OPERATING FEED. They reached out to 3 teachers and 2 other moms and directly served the families in need by asking for donations. "We have been wildly successful helping around 100 families. Several big companies have jumped in to help us out. It has been truly amazing to be apart of such a great show of love and support for our neighbors," says Martin.
Thompson, who is also directly offering support to a local hospital, has been providing added sales support as well as an open ear to the team in the states. "During this crisis we find comfort with our Fermob family and have been heartened by the outpouring of community support from our dealers across the country." In addition to keeping plenty of product stocked, the organization recently launched an e-store,fermobusa.com.
Thompson encourages others to find their own path to find purpose. Helping your local community is a personal decision and dependent of the ability to give. The button below is a vetted list of Covid-19 related charities to give to if you choose.
Fermob on Archiproducts.com
Fermob on Archiproducts.com
