A Grandmother can be such a huge beacon of love, right? The best ones always are.
Pretty soon, you will be planning whether or not to budget and spend on Christmas. We can both agree that COVID has changed so many aspects of our lives. I have a cool idea for your Christmas giving this year.
You already know that the BulletProof Trifecta is – make love to your customers, have simple systems in place and be an upstanding community leader, right? This holiday season, I want to encourage you to be that upstanding community leader.
The biggest COVID lesson
We have all learned, is the people in our social bubble matter the most. Our families and close friends. And the best time we have with them is around the dinner table.
I recently learned about a lady (Elena Iaconna) in Oakville, whose grandmother (Nonna Ma) was felled by COVID in April. And because of all the restrictions, the family could not have a meaningful funeral, let alone give a eulogy or two.
Naturally, Elena was distraught and to help ease some of her grief, she began cooking her grandmother’s recipes. Nonna Ma was Italian, and as you and I know too well, the most excellent recipes are always memorized (because of the frequency of their use) and the specifics are never written down.
Elena recreated all her grandmother’s goodies over the summer. Then, she decided to create a cookbook honouring the legacy of her grandmother. She did not stop there. She determined the best use of all the cookbook proceeds was donating them to the Food Bank of Canada.
Her original goal was $5,000 in donations, and by the 20th of October, she had donated more than $20,000!
Customers and Christmas
When it comes to our customers, we all spend lots of money on Christmas cards, holiday trinkets, and even Christmas festivities and libations. That instant gratification, one and done feeling, has been a mainstay for years. However, this year everything is different.
Across our fair country, too many people remain devastated by the impact of COVID. And while there are lots of worthy charities, the one thing that every single person needs is a full tummy. This year, because of COVID, the food banks have and are facing unprecedented demand.
I bought the cookbook. I was keen to see the quality and learn some new made-with-love recipes. Fifty-seven pages of love, delicious recipes and delightful stories. Every recipe is lovingly recreated and then put to paper.
May I suggest this season, we all consider forgoing the usual Christmas customer merriment in favour of a donation to the Food Bank? The best part is you get to tell your customers that you donated on their behalf to one of the most pressing problems our country faces.
Plus, you get to give them an electronic copy of the book, with a delightful backstory, to help them spread love within their social circles.
Here is the link to the cookbook website and the story that CTV news recently did.
I am sure you will agree that just the idea of a cookbook to honour her grandmother is unique. And directing all the proceeds to the Food Bank is brilliant. Most importantly, you get to play a small part with her and reap the rewards of being an upstanding community leader.
Let me end with Elena’s own words
“I had the privilege of being able to spend so much time with my grandparents, something I know not everyone can say they have had in their lives. I hope some of the stories and photos in this book inspire you to bring a smile to someone’s day, cherish the time you have with those you love, and above all else, embody a love of country so strong that kindness, respect, gratitude, courage, and friendship carries you always. These are just a few of the values my grandmother instilled in me, and for that, I’ll always be able to say, grazie, Nonna Ma.”
