Sponsored by Macys

Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys

Prepared by:
Allee Sawyer, Arelis Lpez, Jason Cody, Jamen Parten, Dina Konarshayeva



Report Date: April 30, 2014


2 | Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys


Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Poverty Rate .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Children in Poverty ................................................................................................................................... 4
Our History ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Solution ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Environmental stability ............................................................................................................................. 5
Proposal ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
Values ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Community ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Involvement .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Inspiration ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Plan ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Execution .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Scheduling............................................................................................................................................... 10
Staffing ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
Budget ......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Authorization Request ................................................................................................................................ 15
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................ 16



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Introduction

What could you do to help the little boy across the street that lives in a rundown house?
The boy, whose parents are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford an extra pair of
socks for him and his little sister every year?

Even though the economy has been returning to normal in the past few years, nearly 30% of
children in Dallas County are growing up in poverty (Jacobson).

(City-Data.com)

Jobs are created and are available to those who qualify; yet, 30.5% of residents in Dallas had an
income below the poverty level in 2009. Some of those residents that are qualified to join the
workforce are unable to do so due to the strict process of interviewing, inability to make
arrangements, or embarrassment of the little choice of business attire they could wear to an
interview.

Macys efforts to reduce pollution and impact the environment have taken the company further
than anybody could have imagined. Packing material, reusable totes, energy-saving LED lights,
and solar installations have led to an enormous positive environmental impact. Our company can
impact the local community and leave a larger mark in history, while reducing the external
impact on the environment.

If Macys stores around the North Dallas area were able to donate a part of their clearance items
to a non-profit organization, such as the Wilkinson Center, the quality of living in poor
households would increase. Whether the stores donate clothes or small home appliances and
goods, Wilkinson Center will make sure the donated items will go into the hands of those most in
need.


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Background
Poverty Rate
Nearly 23% of Texas residents are living below the poverty line. Over 30% of the
residents of Dallas County are living below the poverty level. Due to the urban nature of Dallas
and its increased population it contains a larger portion of the states poorer residents. According
to a recent dallasnews article, Dallas residents are more likely to be impoverished than in any of
Americas 20 biggest cities, except in Detroit, Memphis and Philadelphia (Lindenberger).

Figure 1: Poverty rates among Texans

(City-Data.com)

Due to budget constraints heads of families are forced to choose between paying for rent,
electricity, clothing, & food. The majority of the time there is a shortfall in at least one of these
areas as a result of higher cost in another. These situations exacerbate the situation for these
families and can lead to further degradation of their support systems. When these support
systems fail it can lead to family failure or worse.

Nearly 30% of the Dallas County residents living below the poverty line are under the age of 18
(Jacobson). Teens affected by poverty are five times more likely to drop out of high school
(Rumberger). Children and young adults are the most affected by living in poverty and it can
have long lasting impacts on their ability to succeed. Without a proper education a cycle of
poverty can be created that last for generations.

Children in Poverty
Children living in poverty are typically not able to perform as well as they should.
Malnourishment, absenteeism, a lack of adequate clothing & supplies, as well as social stresses
are known to distract a student and affect their ability to succeed. Without a proper education a
child will be unable to exceed their parents and lift themselves out of poverty as they mature.



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Our History
We have a history of social responsibility. Social responsibility is a long held belief
within our company culture and something we have worked on in other communities. This has
been stated best on the Macys site:

Giving back to the communities where we work and live is a deeply held value at
Macys, Inc. We are proud that our contributions, leadership and volunteer efforts help
create strong communitiesproviding a better environment for our stores to do business
and for our employees and customers to live and work (Macy's, Inc).
Solution
We can provide these families with clothing to go to school, to interview in, and to work
in. We can improve their housing situations by providing them with basic housewares and
bedding. These items can be taken from clearance stock at points during the year and will not
cause an impact on our sales profits.

Working with the Wilkinson Center we can distribute these goods to the most needing members
of the community. The Wilkinson Center will ensure that the members of the community most in
need of the resources will receive them. The center will also continue to work with the families
to give them an opportunity to escape poverty. The Wilkinson Center states on their site:

The Wilkinson Center is a leading poverty rescue and prevention agency for the working
poor, serving over 14,000 people annually, mainly in east and southeast Dallas.
Wilkinson Center offers hope, inspiration, and the basic necessities and tools to empower
its clients to become self-sufficient and improve their lives (Wilkinson Center).
Environmental stability
It is estimated that 21 billion pounds of textile waste ends up in landfills each year (Ben-
Achour). We have taken efforts to ensure environmental sustainability within our supply chain;
we can take further efforts by donating goods that would otherwise end up in a landfill. These
efforts together will engender good will for Macy's and provide a valuable service to the local
community.


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Proposal

Macys North Dallas retailers propose the creation of a new program that involves the
donation of outdated clothing styles, home accessories, and small house appliances: this
proposed program will be introduced as Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys. The
programs main purpose is to equip those individuals in poverty with wearable clothes, small
appliances (toasters, blenders, etc.), and home accessories (dishes, dcor, etc.). Through this
program, Macys will help to provide a more dignified living experience and higher levels of
self-esteem to individuals in need. To ensure this program is successful, Macys will team up
specifically with the Wilkinson Center and through this partnership fulfill a need that the Dallas
community is missing in the DFW area: retailers helping the DFW community. Not only will
Macys benefit by giving back to the community, but also the company will earn helpful tax-
breaks. Texas is among the top states in poverty; therefore, the Wilkinson Center seeks to
alleviate this by contributing towards the decrement of poverty in east and southeast Dallas.
Macys North Dallas retailers would like to test Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys in
the Dallas area. If successful, the program would be expanded to other parts of the country to
gradually help more communities. Poverty has become a major problem that only increased after
the 2007 recession. The Wilkinson Center is an appropriate association to help with this project
due to its extensive 30 years of experience helping the poor break from the poverty cycle. This
association helps and supports 14,000 people annually. Therefore, the Macys North Dallas
retailers feel this partnership will lead to a great success!
Before this proposal is initiated, we would like to meet with the Wilkinson Center
representatives and the Macys management to alleviate any concerns that either organization
may have. A face to face meeting should be scheduled within the next 30 days for this initiative
to meet the desired start date.
Values
Macys has strong values, and one of them is giving back to the community. With this
proposal, Macys employees have the option to be highly involved in helping those in need.
Macys always looks for organic and informative ways to reach its employees, while at the same
time encouraging them to contribute to these efforts. The best way to reach employees for this
project is by informing them about this organization and giving them statistics on how Dallas is
being affected by poverty.
Community
Macys looks at this effort as a way to give back to the community through donating
outdated styles that were unable to be sold in-store. When clothing items, house accessories, and
small home appliances are not able to sell at their original prices they are placed on the sale rack.
Having these items in store slows down shelf space movement and reduces the amount of space
available for Macys newest items. Therefore, Macys North Dallas retailers propose to donate
25% of these clearance items to the Wilkinson Center biannually; the donation will take place
during the spring and fall cleanup. Keep in mind that not all clearance items can be donated;

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every item considered must be on the discount rack for more than a month and under a certain
price value.
Involvement
Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys has to consider the transportation of the
donated goods and the cost of such activity. Macys North Dallas retailers would like to propose
using the same delivery trucks Macys uses for regular merchandise delivery. Using Macys
trucks will yield a smaller expense in comparison to leasing delivery trucks to deliver donated
goods to the Wilkinson Center.
Macys North Dallas retailers know that for Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys to be a
success, the program requires commitment from a well-built team structure and vast awareness
of the topic. For that reason, Macys North Dallas retailers would also like to focus on creating
awareness within these stores/locations. Such awareness will be created through the following
techniques:
1. Create eye-catching bulletin board materials using infographics that illustrate the poverty
issue in Dallas
2. Send bulletin signage along with an explanatory email to North Dallas retailers
management group
3. Delegate project team members to visit North Dallas locations to give a short
presentation on the project
4. Rely on word-of-mouth, a more organic way of reaching employees, to generate
volunteers for the project

Inspiration
The goal of these efforts is to inspire Macys employees to donate their time and help
with Macys program Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys. The employees are needed
to drive delivery trucks to the Wilkinson center and interact with people there. Macys would
also like to create an incentive for employees to help with a yearly raffle awarding $300, $200,
and $100 cash prizes. This raffle will take place during the fall clean-up, and employees involved
in the Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys program have the chance to put their names
in the raffle; if they participate in the spring clean-up as well, they are eligible for another entry
into the raffle. In this way employees will be inspired to participate all year long. Even though
the employee can take the money for himself, they will also be given the option to donate it back
into the program.


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Plan
The majority of the times when companies such as Macys are unable to sell clearance
items these items are put in the garbage and sent to landfills or they have excess in clearance
(Chalupa). We are proposing that the Galleria, Collin Creek, North Park, Willow Bend Macys
donate a portion of the clearance items biannually, at the end of the winter season and summer
season. We are suggesting that these Macys stores donate to the Wilkinson Center in order to
facilitate the programs they have in place to assist those people truly in need with learning skills
and bettering themselves.
Execution
To put this plan into action the company need only undergo minor changes to its existing
system. Our plan will be implemented at Galleria, Collin Creek, North Park, Willow Bend
Macys in the North Dallas area.

Planning
First we must meet with the Wilkinson Center to make sure the Center will use the
resources in the proper manner. A surveyor, a Macys supervisor, will be there for the process
from beginning to end. The surveyor should be sent to inspect the Wilkinson Centers facilities
to ensure they will be servicing those people who will benefit from our donations.

This team would be a temporary team and should have at least one person from with the
Macys store, which will be donating the goods, to be on the survey team to give inside
insight. The insider will be someone from the procurement side of the practice to give
best perspective of the process of how items come and go through the Macys store. They
will be compensated for this work with the agreed upon wage upon accepting this
position. The selection process should take no longer than two weeks.

Implementation
At each Macys store two members per department will be required to sort through
clearance items in order to distinguish whether the specific items should be donated. They will
be in charge of sorting through the items in clearance and to judge whether or not an item should
be donated.

There will be an imposed 30% maximum donation from clearance in order to prevent a
company from over donating

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A training program will be set in place to help determine what products the company will
donate

Reorganization
The store will need to allocate an area where it will keep the items that the store wants to
donate until the delivery date. The process of sorting through all the clearance items could take
from two to four weeks. Bins should be set up for the clothes to be stored in until the donation is
scheduled to be taken to the donation facility.

Transport
Macys will need to have a way to transport these items, a system needs to be established
to deliver the donated items to the Wilkinson Center. We will hire a truck driver for the
scheduled days and will pay them $16.00 per hour as is their Median wage ("Truckdrivers Career
Information"). The delivery cost will differ depending on the distance between the facilities.

At least one truck driver and truck will be needed for each location
Depending on the size of the load and times need to transport this should cost around $96
per drop off

The Benefit
This program provides benefit by filling a social need in the area by supplying families
with clothing, but it also helps the company become greener by reducing the amount of goods we
dispose of in landfills. If we start advertising that we are helping to strengthen the local
communities it could cause an increase in revenue for the stores that support these efforts. In
addition to the good will that this generates Macys will be able to write off the goods as
donations which will reduce taxes and save money for the company.



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Scheduling
A basic time table for this to occur would look similar to the one below:

Activity Date
Hire - a supervisor to oversee the process from
start to finish
5/1/14 to 6/1/14
Surveying - Of the Wilkinson Center checking if
the center can handle the stores donations.
6/3/14 to 6/5/14
Initial Planning - with the Wilkinson Center we
will be setting up a devilry program that will
work best with our stores and the Center.
6/5/14 to 6/11/14
Marketing - Begin local campaign advertising
what we are doing in the community
6/5/14 to 6/20/14
Reorganization - Of the Galleria, Collin Creek,
North Park, Willow Bend Macys storage rooms
to make room for a collection area for the items
6/5/14 to 6/20/14
Sorting - Have the two member team in each
department sort from clearance to determine the
items to donate
6/20/14 to 7/11/14
Delivery - to Wilkinson Center this could take
more time depending on the donations. The
stores will have assigned days to donate their
products during this time period.
7/11/14 to 7/21/14
Marketing - Interview people from the center
and people saying how this program is beneficial
to the community
7/5/14 to 7/20/14

If we were to have this proposal approved and funded by the company before April 30,2014 ,
then the Galleria, Collin Creek, North Park, Willow Bend Macys time line would look like be
similar to the timetable above.



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Promotional Events
We are planning to get the word out with a local campaign explain what we are doing and
how we are different and better from our competitor by being environmentally friendly and
supporting the local community. We are planning on having a National television ad having a
Slice of Life styled commercial from someone who benefits from this program. And contact
local newspapers to get ads place in to newspapers.

Promotion Description
Slice of Life Commercial
This will be a local commercial showing what is like
to be a person and need who benefitted from our
work and how the donations from Macys helped
them
Newspaper Interview
The company will have local newspapers interview
the worker who participated in helping with this
program, volunteers from the Wilkinson center , and
the surveyors
Facebook advertisement
The company will be having facebook
advertisements set up based on the zip code of the
viewer. The link will lead to a webpage that has our
Slice of Life commercial video and a description of
what our companys our doing to help their
environment
In Store Advertisement
The stores will have window advertisement
displaying that what we are doing in the community
and posters around the store.



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Staffing

Staffing will consist of the following, per store:
Role Responsibility Number of Staff Required
Project Supervisor Oversees the process 1
Core Team Sort through the items 2
Delivery Driver Deliver selected items 1
Delivery Support Help load/unload vehicle 2
Inventory Team Keep inventory of donations 3

Compensation should be given based on one of the following options:
Type Description
Regular Pay
Regular hourly rate for work done during regular work
hours
Overtime Pay
Pay overtime hourly rate for work done after the full-time
hours mark
Bonus Larger bonus at the end of the year or an annual raffle
Extra Time Off
i.e., for every 20 hours put into the project, an employee can
receive up to one hour of paid time off



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Budget

The estimated budget for this project is $160,384.00. Of the proposed amount,
$100,000.00 will be provided by Macys through donations and the remaining $60,384.00 will
be composed of staff compensation.

Source of Funding




Donations will be stored on site at the Macys store until delivery to the Wilkinson Center.
Macys department store employees will be compensated for their contributions during work
hours and encouraged to donate time during the delivery to the Wilkinson Center. The event will
promote goodwill for Macys, and a portion of the expenses can be written off in next years
taxes.

Budget
Staffing Goods

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Authorization Request

The Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys campaign will work to provide a higher
quality of life to Dallas citizens who are most in need. By providing clothing and household
goods to these families the campaign engenders a generation of goodwill and positive brand
recognition.
We have the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the local community that will have long
lasting benefits. The campaign helps to ensure that these families have an opportunity to succeed
and furthers Macys contributions to sustainability.
Therefore, I approve the Pathways out of Poverty with Style at Macys campaign and grant the
$120,384.00 budget requisition required for the campaign.


____________________ _____________________________
Date Brad Jakeman
EVP, Creative Strategy
Macy's Corporate Marketing


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Works Cited
Ben-Achour, Sabri. What do stores do with unsold merchandise? 10 March 2014. Website. Retrieved 23
April 2014. from: <http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/ive-always-wondered/what-do-
stores-do-unsold-merchandise-0>.
Chalupa,Andrea. What happens to all of those clothes retailers cant sell? 4 April 2010. Website.
Retrieved 23 April 2014. from: <http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/04/02/what-happens-to-
all-of-those-clothes-retailers-cant-sell>.
City-Data.com. Dallas, Texas (TX) Poverty Rate Data - Information about poor and low income residents
[Chart]. 2014. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014. from: <http://www.city-
data.com/poverty/poverty-Dallas-Texas.html>.
Jacobson, Sherry. Study: Nearly 30% of Dallas County children growing up in poverty. 12 November
2013. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014. from:
<http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20131112-study-nearly-30-of-dallas-county-children-
growing-up-in-poverty.ece>.
Jensen, Eric. Chapter 2. How Poverty Affects Behavior and Academic Performance. 2009. Website.
Retrieved 23 April 2014. from: <http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109074/chapters/How-
Poverty-Affects-Behavior-and-Academic-Performance.aspx>.
Jensen, Eric. How Poverty Affects Classroom Engagement. May 2013. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
from: <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may13/vol70/num08/How-
Poverty-Affects-Classroom-Engagement.aspx>.
Lindenberger, Michael A. Jobs aplenty in Dallas, but poverty stays high. 02 Febuary 2014. Website.
Retrieved 23 April 2014. from: <http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20140201-
jobs-aplenty-in-dallas-but-poverty-stays-high.ece>.
Macy's, Inc. Giving Back to Our Communities. 2014. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014. from:
<http://www.macysinc.com/community>.
Macy's, Inc. What We're Doing: Packed to Protect. 2014. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014. from:
<http://www1.macys.com/campaign/earthday/ecopackaging.jsp?cm_sp=turnoveranewleaf-_-
sitelet-_-checkitout>.
Rumberger, Russell W. Poverty and high school dropouts. May 2013. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
from: <http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/indicator/2013/05/poverty-dropouts.aspx>.
U.S. Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts. 27 March 2014. Website.
Retrieved 23 April 2014. from: <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/48/48113.html>.
Wilkinson Center. About Us. 2011. Website. Retrieved 23 April 2014. from:
<http://thewilkinsoncenter.org/dallas/media-information>.