Local restaurant focuses on giving back to the community
January 2, 2017
Downtown Spartanburg restaurant, The Crepe Factory, made a donation in the amount of $10,0000 to United Way of the Piedmont in support of its Imagination Library Program. Co-owners Elaine Hoffmann and Denise Mehl, attribute the donation to the generosity of their staff and customers.
Each month throughout the year, The Crepe Factory staff select a local charity to donate their tips to, and each month a portion was set aside for a large end of the year donation. This year, that end of the year amount totaled $20,000. Hoffman and Mehl decided to split the donation between two local nonprofit organizations: Goodfellows and United Way of the Piedmont.
When asked why they chose United Way of the Piedmont as a recipient, Mehl states, “We wanted the money to go to United Way because we knew the money would stay local. It was really important for us to give back to this community that has been so wonderful to us.”
United Way of the Piedmont will use the donation to support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Imagination Library is a collaborative between Dollywood Foundation and United Way of the Piedmont, that provides a free, age appropriate book to children under the age of 5 every month. As a former librarian, when Denise Mehl heard about this initiative she jumped at the opportunity to support this United Way of the Piedmont program.
When Hoffmann and Mehl told their staff about the year-end donations to be made, the staff were overjoyed and emotional. “This staff is really a family. We couldn’t do any of this without them, and they were so excited to see that they were really making a difference in the community,” Hoffmann says. Both Hoffmann and Mehl are quick to point out that it is the generosity of their customers as well that has afforded them this opportunity. They want their customers to know that by coming to The Crepe Factory, they are helping give back to the community.
About United Way of the Piedmont
United Way of the Piedmont is a local nonprofit that works to create opportunities for a stronger, healthier community for us all. Our mission is to connect, engage and inspire people to transform our community. Our priority areas are Education, Financial Stability, and Health because we believe these are the building blocks for a good quality of life. We believe that every individual should be engaged in their community, and United Way can be the source of that connection. When you GIVE of your financial resources, ADVOCATE for a cause, or VOLUNTEER your time, you become part of the change that creates a better life for all.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
In 1995, Dolly Parton launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in her home county in East Tennessee. Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age-appropriate books directly to their homes, the Imagination Library removes the biggest barrier to childhood learning: access to books. Moreover, the program insures that every child can have access to books, regardless of their family’s income. The Imagination Library became so popular that in 2000, the program was made available to any community that was willing to support it locally. In 2001, United Way of the Piedmont brought The Imagination Library to Spartanburg and Union Counties. To date, 41,446 children have participated in the program, receiving 1,342,436 books, and 10,943 children are currently enrolled with enrollment continuing to rise. For more information on Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and how to support the program, please visit http://www.uwpiedmont.org/what-we-do/programs-investment/imagination-library/
