Big Lots Launches 7th Point-of-Sale Fundraising Campaign

March 29, 2019  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Now through April 21, Big Lots customers can donate $1, $2, $5 or more at checkout. One hundred percent of the dollars raised supports lifesaving research and care at the hospital. 

Last fall, Big Lots completed its sixth point-of-sale fundraising campaign on behalf of the hospital in all 1,416 Big Lots stores and more than 35,000 associates helped collect over $3.2 million in customer donations. In all, Big Lots and their customers have raised more than $17 million for Nationwide Children's through the Give Big Campaign.

"Our relationship with Nationwide Children's Hospital and the life-saving work they do every day is grounded in our dedication to kids everywhere and their physical, mental and emotional health. In just four short years, our customers and our stores teams have raised over $17 million dollars and we look forward to another successful campaign to support our partners at Nationwide Children's." said Tim Johnson, EVP, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer.

In 2016, Big Lots and the Big Lots Foundation joined Nationwide Children's in addressing childhood behavioral health and mental illness when they announced a $50 million transformational gift to the hospital to construct the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Scheduled to open in early 2020, the Pavilion will be a freestanding facility fully dedicated to children and adolescents with behavioral health conditions. It will be the largest behavioral health treatment and research center dedicated to children and adolescents on a pediatric medical campus in the U.S.

"On behalf of the patients, families and staff at Nationwide Children's Hospital, we express our sincere gratitude to Big Lots, the Big Lots Foundation and their many associates who rally to support our vision of creating best outcomes for children everywhere," said Steve Testa, president, Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation. "Our hope is that the work our incredible staff of clinicians and scientists are doing in the behavioral health space will impact children throughout the country."  

Additionally, for the past two years, the Big Lots Foundation has supported the hospital's Butterfly Run, a family fitness event that takes place at various locations throughout the country. The goal of the Butterfly Run is to grow awareness, break stigmas and raise funds for lifesaving pediatric behavioral health research and care.