DMC Honors Retailers for Community Involvement

February 14, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on February 15, 2011

Dallas Market Center has honored retailers Brown of Houston, Texas, and Tea & Magnolias, Tulsa, Okla., for their community involvement.

The retailers are the two winners for The Next Big Give, a national search for specialty retailers that give back in their communities. Brown and Tea & Magnolias were selected from more than 50 retailers that are involved in a variety of ways through volunteering, raising funds or donating goods. 
 
"Congratulations to The Next Big Give winners," said Bill Winsor, president and CEO, Dallas Market Center. "Both retailers offer significant support to worthy organizations and communities. We thank them for their good work and hope their stories will inspire other retailers to do the same."
 
Brown is owned by Jill Brown. The home furnishings retailer put its entire 2010 advertising budget towards two events benefiting uniquely different organizations: Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Yellowstone Academy, a Houston-area college preparatory school. Jill Brown felt that it was more important to put funds towards the needs she saw in her community rather than towards promoting her business through advertising.
 
Spurred by a belief in American ingenuity and hard work, Brown hosted FM 2490 in October 2010, which raised awareness for the FFA. Brown' Chandeliers and Champagne party to benefit Yellowstone Academy included a live auction that raised close to $30,000 for the school. Yellowstone received 100 percent of the proceeds.

Tea & Magnolias, a gift and accessories retailer, is owned by Susan Ponville. The store extends its generosity far beyond its immediate community to the Amazon jungles of Peru. Inspired by her past work as a missionary in Peru, Ponville sells jewelry and purses in the store made by Peruvian women with all of the proceeds going back to help the women support their families. 
 
Also, in order to help the Tulsa community, each Christmas Tea & Magnolias hosts a Christmas Home Tour, giving all the proceeds to Pathways Adult Learning Center, a local school for special needs adults. The store also sells crosses that are handmade by a group of special needs adults in order to fund the group's activities.