Some reflections from Helen Molloy, Forum’s Director, on our Fab At Forty celebrations:
So, Forum Jewellers celebrated its 40th year of trading this year and I feel compelled to share in the joy it has brought me and my team.
When we sat down back in October 2021 to plan the celebrations back, our initial thoughts were ‘let’s have a big black tie party and invite our customers’. Then we realised the worry of Covid still loomed and that a lot of customers wouldn’t necessarily attend such an event. So how could we reach a wider customer base?
The idea of carrying out Random Acts of Kindness was born. Then we said ‘why not do 40 acts for the 40 years, over 40 weeks?’ We then literally brainstormed what we could do that would thank a wide range of our customers but also the Broadstone community that are extremely loyal to our high street.
It was so much fun coming up with the ideas, and at the end of it we had 40 ideas that we could start to deliver from February through to November.
These ranged from:
Thanking our fellow Broadstone businesses monthly with delicious cupcakes – 480 in total, thankfully I didn’t have to bake them! We supported a local baker called Cake Me Crazy.
Surprising 17 customers who were making a purchase instore by paying for it for them.
Reaching out to thank the community by donating cash to the Scouts via a car wash, new footballs for the Youth Football Club, a visit from ice cream van for the Youth Club, and a cash donation to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and to buy wreaths for the Cadets to lay on Remembrance Sunday.
We surprised the elderly with Curly the Busker who played songs for two local care homes, we turned up at the local children’s nursery with a gift voucher to buy toys. We rewarded the hardworking teachers of the local first school with a Nomination jewellery gift.
On special occasions such as Mother’s Day, Easter and Father’s Day, we walked the high street giving away flowers and chocolates to shoppers.
We donated to charities, the Food Bank, and Christmas presents for children who are at risk of receiving nothing.
We thanked those that provide a service to us: postmen, bin men, and cleaners by giving them Costa vouchers.
My one hope is that our amazing customers and followers have experienced one of these random acts for themselves or know of someone who has. We’ve received such amazing support and feedback from our followers whenever we have shared our pictures on social media.
So what have I learnt?
I have learnt:
- that the smallest act can bring the greatest surprise. Standing in the pouring rain one Saturday morning and paying for 95 people to park their car is up there as one of my favourites.
- that people repay the kindness – being bought a £10 box of chocolates to say thank you for making their day by paying their £1 parking. We even received cupcakes from another local business as a thank you for the ones we gave them. Something we didn’t expect!
- you can make a child’s day by buying them an ice cream! When we turned up with an ice cream van to treat the 65 kids attending Broadstone Youth Club, the screams of sheer delight and the politeness from teenagers was amazing and that was before they knew they didn’t have to pay for the ice cream or slushie.
- I’ve paid for the most expensive car wash ever – what fun to arrive at the Scouts £5 Car Wash to pay them £100 for washing my car. I had found out that they were saving for a trip of a lifetime to Switzerland and they were our very first Random Act. It was a fantastic way to launch the year of celebrations.
- It takes one small act to turn a person’s day around. On presenting a lady on the high street with a bottle of ChloBo perfume, she looked petrified I was about to sell her something. She contacted us later that day and apologised for not being with it. She said she’d had the worse night with a very poorly baby, no sleep and our random act had made her smile for the first time that day. Other presentations bought tears to people’s eyes and comments of ‘you have made my day!’
It’s going to be sad not to have something to give each week, it certainly has been Fab at Forty for Forum.
