Press
Silver Sands Donates $8,000 to Local Community for the Holidays
Because of the increased need to assist charities this year, Silver Sands Factory Stores recently donated to two local organizations to help our community during times of need. On Monday, December 22, Silver Sands’ team presented the Harvest House with $5,000 worth of needed groceries from Publix in Grand Boulevard.
“We are extremely grateful to Keith and Laura Howard and Silver Sands for this generous gift to buy food. This is the single largest gift Harvest House has ever received,” said Jerry Ogle, board member and founder of Harvest House. “Our pantry was nearly empty until now. This gift of food will replenish our supplies and help us move into the New Year with a well-stocked pantry.”
Harvest House currently feeds about 8-10 families a day and around 6-8 homeless people a day in the Destin area. Upon news of the donation, Ogle gave Publix a list of needed groceries. The Publix team spent two hours with Ogle to identify cost effective ways to purchase groceries, including buying items in bulk, taking advantage of the ‘buy one, get one free’ promotions and advantage pricing. Also, Publix donated an additional $500 worth of food, toys and toiletries to Harvest House through donation bags purchased by the local community.
In addition, due to the increased demand this year for toys, Silver Sands donated $3,000 towards the local Toys for Tots drive. Silver Sands presented a check to Lisa Norton, community outreach chair, for the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors to purchase toys.
“We assisted over 8,600 families last year and we’re anticipating helping over 10,000 this year,” stated Norton.
The association began working with the Marine Corps League, a group of retired and inactive marines, three years ago to spearhead the Toys for Tots program. The Marine Corps League is responsible for bringing the Toys for Tots program to this area over 15 years ago. Over 26 charities in Walton and Okaloosa Counties benefit from the program.
ABOUT SILVER SANDS FACTORY STORES
Silver Sands Factory Stores, a Howard Group Development, is the nation’s largest designer outlet center located near Destin, FL in the heart of Northwest Florida Beaches, named one of Frommer’s top 2010 international destinations and one of Good Morning America's "10 Most Beautiful Places in America." The Center currently features more than 100 designer factory stores with 465,200 square feet of retail space, and ultimately 700,000 planned. Silver Sands is visited by over seven million shoppers each year who shop for designer merchandise at up to 75 percent off retail prices. Silver Sands is located on Emerald Coast Parkway, one mile west of Sandestin® Golf and Beach Resort. For more information, call the Shopper Services at 850.654.9771 ext 1 or visit online at silversandsoutlet.com. Fan Silver Sands on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SilverSands) or follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/SilverSandsFS).
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Media Contacts:
Katie Johnson, Communications Manager
kj@silversandsoutlet.com
850.654.9771
Ashley Watkins, Marketing Director
aw@silversandsoutlet.com
850.654.9771