Buy reuseable bags to support the Wilbraham Public Library

March 14, 2019 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

The Community Bag program, which kicked off in January, promotes local non-profits through the sale of a reusable shopping tote. The price of the tote is $2.50, a dollar of which is donated to one of the many charities in the area.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo.

WILBRAHAM – On their next trip to Big Y, Wilbraham shoppers will have an opportunity to support the town library through Big Y’s Community Bag program.

“This program is designed to make it easy for shoppers to give back to their local community while supporting the environment,” the program’s website states.

The Community Bag program, which kicked off in January, promotes local non-profits through the sale of a reusable shopping tote. The price of the tote is $2.50, a dollar of which is donated to one of  the many charities in the area.

The bags come with a “Giving Tag.” Shoppers can then visit bigy.bagsformycause.com, enter the code on the tag, and select the non-profit of their choice. Big Y contributes to 73 non-profits in the various communities they serve.

As the website explains, each store designates one of the charities to be their choice for the month. If the $1 donation is not directed to a non-profit by the shopper within 7 days, it will automatically be donated to the charity chosen by the store where the community bag was purchased.

For the month of March, the Big Y on Boston Road in Wilbraham chose the Wilbraham Friends of the Library, a non-profit that helps fund the Wilbraham Public Library.

Sue Magee, the president of the Wilbraham Friends of the Library, said it is comprised of approximately 300 volunteers from the town. The money it raises pays for programs, speakers’ fees, and special materials not funded by the town. The charity works to meet a yearly fundraising goal of $20,000.

“We chose the Wilbraham Friends of the Library because young people are very important to our community and we want to make sure they have all the resources they need,” said Sean Thompson, the assistant store director at the Wilbraham Big Y.

Thompson said the program has been popular with customers so far.

“[Customers] love that we’re raising money and that it’s for local causes,” said Thompson. He said that they sell a significant amount of the bags, which are available at Big Y’s registers and at the reusable bag rack, on which the selected non-profit for the month is posted.

Non-profits that are not yet a part of the program can submit themselves at bigy.bagsformycause.com.

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