The typical workday is filled with much of the “same-old, same-old” – dealing with paperwork, wrestling with technology bugaboos, putting out fires, an endless stream of meetings – but every so often something happens at the office that just makes you feel good. We had one of those all-too-rare occurrences this week.
We are in the business of creating and running reward and loyalty programs for our clients – incentive marketing initiatives that accomplish business goals like driving revenue, building brand loyalty, and boosting employee engagement. One unique aspect of our programs is that they award participants with points, points that can be redeemed for a huge variety of rewards. Most of the time program participants use their points to reward themselves with personal indulgences – things like luxury vacation trips, iPads and HDTVs. Recently one of our participants chose a reward that warmed the hearts of everyone in our company.
Cainin Griffin is a 14-year-old from Wiscasset, Maine, battling leukemia. His attitude and prognosis are excellent, but he still has a long road ahead of him. Cainin is a basketball nut and can usually be found with a basketball in his hands – he was even seen shooting hoops during breaks while he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Instead of using points on personal rewards, our program participant (who remains anonymous) chose to make one of Cainin’s dreams come true – to attend an NBA finals playoff game with his family and a friend. With the help of our customer service staff, program-awarded points were donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to purchase tickets to Game 3 of the 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine took care of all the other arrangements for the trip and everyone involved had a wonderful time. Below is a link to a news story about Cainin’s NBA adventure (with a new friend) that aired on a local Dallas TV station.
Gestures like this one reveal the better side of us all and deserve greater recognition and celebration. In a time when business is tough and many are worried about their own prospects it’s inspiring to hear stories about people selflessly helping others in need. It’s even more inspiring to be part of the story.
For more information on The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine visit their Website at www.mainewish.org or Facebook page
