Company's charity a homerun

Weed Pro owner Rob Palmer presents Sister Mary Berigan with a check.
While nuns taking the mound at minor league baseball games are uncommon, the gift Sister Mary Berigan, director and co-founder of the Blessing House, received after she threw the first pitch was even more extraordinary – a $3,000 check from Cleveland-based Weed Pro.

Weed Pro’s donation to the Blessing House was just one part of its commitment to local care. Weed Pro started its campaign in the spring by distributing 100,000 door hangers in the community. The door hangers read, “Weed pro wants to build a healthier environment – both for your lawn and children in need.”

They promoted Weed Pro and the Blessing House, a children’s crisis care center in nearby Lorain, Ohio. Weed Pro would donate $25 to the Blessing House for each new customer. It also offered a free fertilizer and insecticide application.

“It’s a win-win situation,” says owner Rob Palmer. “We win, the homeowner wins and the organization wins. Really, it’s win-win-win.”

Weed Pro donated the money after securing 120 new customers. Palmer looks to the company’s tagline when brainstorming ways to engage with the community.

“Our tagline is, ‘local care, expert results,’” says Palmer. “We’re always thinking about what ‘local’ means.”

Instead of just handing the check over to Berigan, the company hosted Weed Pro Night at the Park, a family-focused event at a minor league baseball game.

Weed Pro wanted more than just baseball at the event; and featured carnival-style games with prizes, a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, temporary tattoos and hair painting for the kids.

“We really made this a child-friendly, community activity based around baseball, the American pastime,” Palmer says.

Aside from the $3,000 presented at the game’s opening, Weed Pro raised an additional $1,200 for the Blessing House through Night at the Park.

“We compete against national companies. We need to be branded as a caring provider – the one who cares the most,” Palmer says.

After the event, some customers called with praise; one even donated memorabilia for the silent auction.
By the end of the night, Weed Pro donated $6,300 and spread awareness about the Blessing House to about 5,000 people.

“Your reputation is built not on what you receive, but what you give,” he says. “If everybody looked at it that way, it sure would be a nicer world to live in.”

Is your company working on a charitable marketing project? Tell us about it and you could appear in an upcoming issue. E-mail your story to Associate Editor Brian Horn at bhorn@gie.net.