The Parker Avery Group’s RetailROI Partnership
For several years, The Parker Avery Group has partnered with the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) organization to help orphans, children, and their communities. RetailROI’s efforts focus on Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, South Africa, and other locations which have little access to necessities like clean water, clothing, schools, education, and skills programs.
Parker Avery continually supports RetailROI and gets physically involved in driving meaningful projects to improve the lives of underserved kids. To do this well, we strongly feel it is vital to get more deeply ingrained in the cultures, people, and personalities as opposed to simply writing a check (although that’s needed too!).
Scroll through our timeline and please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to understand more or get involved with RetailROI or the JEDI program.
2021
In January 2021, Parker Avery sponsored RetailROI’s SuperFriday virtual event, which raised over $200K in just a few weeks. This money helped to fund projects for orphans and vulnerable children in the US and around the world. More so, the event raised awareness about these initiatives at a time when many of us were seeking ways to find or inspire more optimism in a highly tumultuous world.
In March 2021, The Parker Avery Group joined other leading retailers and technology providers in sponsoring RetailROI’s annual March Gladness fundraising event. March Gladness provided funding for projects in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Guatemala, among other areas. Participants donate money and can pick tournament brackets and get opportunities to win prizes such as gift cards provided by event sponsors,
March
Parker Avery Sponsors March Gladness
“The Parker Avery Group elevated the entire concept to a level far beyond our expectations. Their work and investment will dramatically change the entire parish of Clarendon, Jamaica.”
— Greg Buzek, RetailRO
Sparked by Parker Avery’s relationship with the Retail Orphan Initiative, our team of consultants built and delivered an intensive, five-week course to teach six enterprising businesspeople ranging in age from 17 to early 20s living in Chapelton, Jamaica how to develop and present a full business plan. We aspiringly named this effort the “JEDI Challenge” (Jamaican Entrepreneurs Delivering Innovation). The businesses included fashion, skincare, lip balm, farming, baking, and a children’s home. The first iteration of the JEDI Challenge concluded in November 2021 and was deemed an outstanding success. Be sure to watch the recap!
2022
Parker Avery again proudly sponsored RetailROI’s March Gladness event. 100% of all donations go directly to important programs that directly impact kids and orphans across the globe. Plus, March Gladness participants get a chance to score a variety of gift cards and the chance to win $1,500. March Gladness is a fun and easy way to spread goodwill.
The primary goal of this life-changing expedition was to meet the six inaugural participants of the JEDI (Jamaican Entrepreneur Development Initiative) Challenge, held in the autumn of 2021. The Parker Avery team and members of RetailROI visited JEDI business sites, heard about the JEDI participants’ business challenges and surprises, and toured local schools and libraries in Chapelton, Jamaica (located in the island country’s beautiful, mountainous interior). During the school visits, the team identified additional projects needed to ensure students from preschool through high school have safe and more modern learning environments. Some of the JEDI participants also set up a mini market at Clarendon College to proudly showcase and sell their wares. The team also met with JEDI 2.0 candidates and gained a personal understanding of the next cohort’s business dreams.
On this episode of Parker Avery’s Talk Retail to Me podcast, Tricia Gustin sat down with Greg Buzek, President and Secretary of RetailROI, to discuss the JEDI Challenge along with key principals from the Fergus Simpson Foundation, Janeth Brown, Carol, and Lawrence Madden. The team dove into what the young JEDI entrepreneurs had been continuing to work on since the JEDI Challenge ended the year before, as well as the firm’s plans to continue the JEDI program.
The second iteration of the JEDI Challenge concluded in October 2022. The entrepreneurs’ business ideas included a healthy candy company, a crochet apparel company, a poultry farm, a jewelry company, a lip-gloss company, and a soap manufacturer. We were impressed by the resilience these six young people exhibited to persevere through intermittent connectivity issues, tropical storms, and flooding, along with balancing normal family, work, and school commitments.
2023
Parker Avery joined several hundred retailers and industry colleagues in sponsoring RetailROI’s 2023 SuperSaturday. Held annually in New York City on the Saturday before the National Retail Federation’s (NRF’s) Big Show, this all-day event not only raised over $200,000 for RetailROI but also brought awareness of the hundreds of partner programs across the United States and the world.
Parker Avery’s Senior Director of Marketing, Tricia Gustin, presented the success of the firm’s JEDI Challenge to encourage other companies to replicate the program across the globe. In recognition of her efforts in driving the JEDI program for the past two years, Tricia won the coveted RetailROI Bobblehead Award!
Parker Avery once again joined in sponsoring and promoting RetailROI’s March Gladness event. The 2023 event focused on raising awareness and funding programs to support foster kids and social worker retention in the United States.
With Retail ROI’s 2023 March Gladness goal of raising $50,000, Parker Avery encouraged donations by matching individual donations up to $2,000.
Members of Parker Avery’s leadership team joined RetailROI, along with other retail colleagues and their families, on a trip to Chapelton, Jamaica. The group visited local schools, painted the exterior of an elementary school, and collaborated on future projects. The group also met candidates for Parker Avery’s 2023 JEDI program, which begins in August.
Parker Avery’s India-based analytics team visited Mamata Bal Sadan, an orphanage in Pune. The team spent time with over 60 young girls, playing chess and other games, as well as discussing life, educational, and career experiences.
Both teams donated books to libraries and helped offset school expenses for young children in these areas.
Parker Avery once again partnered with RetailROI and the Fergus Simpson Foundation to deliver the JEDI program to five aspiring Jamaicans who are working on becoming successful entrepreneurs in Chapelton, Jamaica.
The third iteration of the JEDI Challenge concluded in October 2023 with the final JEDI presentations conducted live in Chapelton and live-streamed to a panel of judges in the United States. As in years past, Parker Avery awarded tiered funding to the JEDIs, based on comprehensive assessment and scoring of each business.
2024
Parker Avery is once again proudly joining fellow retailers and solution providers in sponsoring the best event of the year. Held the day before NRF’s 2024 Big Show kicks off (January 13) Super Saturday is a day that will truly change your own world, while changing the lives of kids around the globe. You will listen to some great discussions by retail influencers, hear Darryl McDaniel of Run DMC’s personal adoption story, and learn about all the amazing projects RetailROI’s partner charities handle,
Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with more news about JEDI, our partnership with RetailROI, and our other goodwill initiatives!