Three hometown friends from North Bay reunited this holiday season and have successfully offered a small-business-boosting charitable initiative that created plenty of buzz in the Bay.
The curated Bay Bundle includes offerings from 10 North Bay favourites. Of the $60 cost, $58 makes its way back into the hands of the participating local establishments and $2 goes to the Santa Fund. The Caisse Alliance North Bay generously supported the project by covering overhead.
The final tally is in and 400 Bay Bundles were sold, packaged and delivered. That's more than $23,000 in sales for local businesses and a donation of more than $2,500 to the Santa Fund.
See original story: A heartfelt 'shop local' care package from a trio of homegrown business minds
Team member Nico Waltenbury feels his hometown "really gravitated toward something that could bring back a real sense of joy and remind us what our community is all about.
"With everything going on in the world right now, I think people really liked that this project was a purely good news story — customers were simultaneously supporting local businesses, donating to the Santa Fund, and receiving an incredible bundle of local products at a great price."
The first round of 250 bundles sold out in 18 hours, while the second round of 150 bundles were purchased in less than 25 minutes. A small, dedicated team of volunteers packed up the 400 bundles on Friday at Les Compagnons and deliveries of 274 bundles were made across the city. The remainder were picked up at gd2go. All packing and delivery followed COVID-19 health and saftey precautions and was fully contactless.
Waltenbury adds, "Many of our vendors noted this was the largest order they have ever done."
The Bay Bundle is a team effort. North Bay-raised St. Joseph–Scollard Hall alums Sierra Mercer, Taylor Hummel and Waltenbury scattered following graduation in 2015 to chase their educational and career pursuits but the old high school chums have teamed up to put together the Bay Bundle this holiday season — simultaneously showcasing and supporting small local businesses and the Santa Fund.
The three-person Bay Bundle team tells BayToday, "We are overwhelmed by the support and engagement of the North Bay community. It has been such an honour to give back to the community that has given so much to us over the years."
The team says initial feedback has been extremely positive from customers and they are already receiving requests for another edition this spring. No promises yet from the Bay Bundle, as they will take an opportunity to "breathe, rest, and reflect after this round before we look at another edition."
The Bay Bundle trio adds, "We are just a group of young people trying to do a good thing for our community by using the skills and experience we had. This project has served as a great reminder that with good intentions and hard work, anyone can play a role in contributing to the culture of generosity, support, and community that defines North Bay."
