I sent this on 11/6/11:
Dear Little Caesar's,
I saw something the other day that made me very sad. Picture, if you will, a driveway to a very busy shopping complex. On the north side of the driveway, a man stands with a sign in his hand. His sign reads "Halloween USA Now Open." On the south side of the driveway, a man stands with a sign in his hand. His sign reads "Homeless. Need Food. God Bless." You have Corporate America competing against our nation's downtrodden.
I took my son to the grocery store. We bought two boxes of breakfast bars. One for the hungry man with the sign. The other, I stashed under my seat for the next hungry fellow with a sign. I see more and more people like this. As I did this, I wondered what else I could do.
Some folks will tell you that these are rich men getting richer off of hand-outs. Others will say, "you're not helping them by giving them hand-outs." Here's what I know. 1) If I were the one with the sign, I'd be pretty grateful for any help. 2) If I've been tricked by the 1 in 1000 who lives in a nice house, he's going hto be eating breakfast bars in his nice kitchen, but that doesn't take away from a good deed.
If there were something more permanent that I could do, besides eight cereal bars, I would like to help.
I contact Little Caesars because 1) I happen to have a great deal of respect for the owner, Mr. Ilitch. 2) I see young fellows out in front of your restaurants every day, with a sign, waving folks in.
Doesn't it seem like an easy and natural transition to pay the guy on the south side of the driveway to wave a sign like the guy on the north side of the driveway? Let hungry guy wave a Little Caesar's sign. He can stand there for eight, ten, twelve hours a day with a sign--he's already doing this!
I'm not trying to be a smarty pants. I'm talking about an outreach program for someone who desperately needs it. I'm talking about minimum wage, leftover pizza, and a uniform. Maybe hook them up with a shelter where they can stay. Publicize the heck out of what you're doing. People would love to support such a caring business. I'm talking about a new beginning.
In the meantime, give folks like me a stack of applications, maybe with a nice letter to encourage them to stop by and apply. Think about it!
Sincerely,
Jerry
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Dear Little Caesar's,
On November 6th, I sent you a note suggesting an outreach program to homeless people. Start hiring them to hold up your festive signs. Give them an honest day's wage, some leftover pizza, and maybe access to the various networks of shelters. What could it hurt?
I received a confirmation that you received my note. And then silence. Did you not take my idea seriously? Did you think I was joking? Or are your folks seriously considering my idea?
I"m not saying fire the guys doing those jobs now. I'm saying, as one leaves, hires a homeless person. It seems to be a high turnover position. All I'm saying is, help somebody out who is down on their luck.
Look, I've invested a lot in your place. Frankly, as a father of two, I'm growing tired of Hot N' Readies. If I knew you were making a concerted effort to hire homeless people and point them in the right direction, those $5 pizzas might start tasting pretty good again.
Sincerely,
Jerry
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Dear Little Caesar's,
I saw something the other day that made me very sad. Picture, if you will, a driveway to a very busy shopping complex. On the north side of the driveway, a man stands with a sign in his hand. His sign reads "Halloween USA Now Open." On the south side of the driveway, a man stands with a sign in his hand. His sign reads "Homeless. Need Food. God Bless." You have Corporate America competing against our nation's downtrodden.
I took my son to the grocery store. We bought two boxes of breakfast bars. One for the hungry man with the sign. The other, I stashed under my seat for the next hungry fellow with a sign. I see more and more people like this. As I did this, I wondered what else I could do.
Some folks will tell you that these are rich men getting richer off of hand-outs. Others will say, "you're not helping them by giving them hand-outs." Here's what I know. 1) If I were the one with the sign, I'd be pretty grateful for any help. 2) If I've been tricked by the 1 in 1000 who lives in a nice house, he's going hto be eating breakfast bars in his nice kitchen, but that doesn't take away from a good deed.
If there were something more permanent that I could do, besides eight cereal bars, I would like to help.
I contact Little Caesars because 1) I happen to have a great deal of respect for the owner, Mr. Ilitch. 2) I see young fellows out in front of your restaurants every day, with a sign, waving folks in.
I'm not trying to be a smarty pants. I'm talking about an outreach program for someone who desperately needs it. I'm talking about minimum wage, leftover pizza, and a uniform. Maybe hook them up with a shelter where they can stay. Publicize the heck out of what you're doing. People would love to support such a caring business. I'm talking about a new beginning.
In the meantime, give folks like me a stack of applications, maybe with a nice letter to encourage them to stop by and apply. Think about it!
Sincerely,
Jerry
---------------------
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Follow-up note sent 11/21/11.
On November 6th, I sent you a note suggesting an outreach program to homeless people. Start hiring them to hold up your festive signs. Give them an honest day's wage, some leftover pizza, and maybe access to the various networks of shelters. What could it hurt?
I received a confirmation that you received my note. And then silence. Did you not take my idea seriously? Did you think I was joking? Or are your folks seriously considering my idea?
I"m not saying fire the guys doing those jobs now. I'm saying, as one leaves, hires a homeless person. It seems to be a high turnover position. All I'm saying is, help somebody out who is down on their luck.
Look, I've invested a lot in your place. Frankly, as a father of two, I'm growing tired of Hot N' Readies. If I knew you were making a concerted effort to hire homeless people and point them in the right direction, those $5 pizzas might start tasting pretty good again.
Sincerely,
Jerry
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