About four years ago Graeme Park partnered with Shop for Museums, a portal which allows you to link to over 900 online retailers who then donate a percentage of your purchase amount to the museum partner you've designated, which we of course hope will be Graeme Park. A few times a year we receive a check, usually in the $20-$30 range, and the best part is that this money is coming from the retailers as a marketing expense, not the consumer, so it doesn't cost any more to purchase through the site. Registration is easy, you do not give Shop for Museums or Graeme Park your credit card information - this goes straight to the online retailer like any other purchase - and you can choose whether the museum gets notification of your donation amount or you can keep this information totally private too.
So, how can you get involved with making your online shopping make a difference? Lots of ways! Of course try to get in the habit of checking for your favorite retailers before making any online purchase: lots of the big online stores like Amazon and eBay participate. But what about stores like Home Depot, Sears, Target, and Walmart where it is just as easy to go in and pick up what you need? Did you know most of these places will allow you to order online and pick up in the store? How easy is that! Just run in with your order slip and your purchase is ready and waiting, no delivery charges, no trying to find someone on the sales floor to get stock out of the back for you or help you with larger purchases.
Are you in a position to order office supplies for your workplace? Or on friendly terms with the person who does? Staples and Office Max offer free shipping for orders over $50, and many of the online toner companies have great prices AND donate a very large percentage. Corporate/client gifts are another way to get your company involved. Or maybe you plan your company's travel? Car rental agencies, hotels, and airport parking agencies participate, and if the travelers want to load up on music, books, video games or movies for entertainment on the journey, they can do all that through Shop for Museums too.
And lastly, who doesn't need more time at the holidays to get it all done. You can shop online for gifts of course, but you can also have flowers, pet supplies, party supplies, even your Christmas tree delivered. So there you have it, lots and lots of ways to support Graeme Park (or another favorite museum or historic site) and just maybe make your life a little easier in the process.
In case you want to know even more about Shop for Museums and how it works, they've prepared this helpful video.
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