Genie Brings Magic to Non-Profit

Everyone attending the Genie Industries’ Global Sales Meeting donned their baseball caps, sunscreen and team T-shirts that sunny April afternoon in Central Florida. That day was about getting out from behind a desk and away from sales calls, to giving back to our community; whether that meant washing windows, picking up trash, building a deck, polishing a carousel or even unclogging a moat.

Approximately 200 Genie Team Members volunteer at Give Kids The World resort in Central Florida during the annual Global Sales Meeting. Volunteer activities included cleaning, landscaping and deck building, among others.

The Genie sales and marketing team volunteered at Give Kids The World (GKTW) Village, a 70-acre, non-profit resort where children with life-threatening illnesses have one wish: to experience the area’s best-loved attractions. In addition to accommodations for the families’ stay, GKTW also arranges for attraction tickets and meals to be provided for a completely cost-free vacation. At the resort, the kids have a chance to eat giant banana splits for breakfast, get tucked into bed by a six-foot bunny, “Mayor Clayton,” and just get to be kids. Since its inception in 1989, GKTW has welcomed nearly 85,000 families from all 50 states and over 60 countries.

“This is a nice opportunity to contribute,” says Western Canada sales rep Geoff Allen and a carousel polisher. “As a father of four, I can’t imagine what having a child with a life-threatening illness would do to a family.”

Brad Abrahams and Matt Fearon clean up and help with landscaping throughout the resort.

There are many unique structures at the resort including a Gingerbread House which provides both breakfast and dinner, an Ice Cream Palace which was designed by a child to look like an ice cream sundae, a cloud-covered House of Hearts Chapel, and the Castle of Miracles.

Inside the Castle, each child receives a star for the “Star Fairy” to place on the Castle’s ceiling that evening – an area overwhelmed with the small stars. The management actually uses a Genie product, a Genie® AWP, at night to lift the “Star Fairy” into the air to perfectly position each star. All together, more than 75,000 stars cover the ceiling of this small building. Parents return years later to find their particular child’s star.

Roger Brown and Pat Witte team up to clean out the Castle’s moat.

The group dispersed into smaller units to help around the park. Tasks included scrubbing the Gingerbread House, polishing the Castle’s carousel, and draining and cleaning the moat for the very first time. The teams also spent time sprucing up the villas, cleaning the streets and building a brand new deck.
“This is a very humbling experience,” said Australian sales rep and “moat cleaner” Chris Wilson. “I don’t think we ever enjoyed golf this much.” 

 “This is such a fantastic day,” said Francine Shore, UK marketing manager for Genie who helped to clean up the Gingerbread House. “We are so lucky to have our jobs and busy lives; it’s gratifying to put something back into the community.”

Linda Mayer, Genie’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Development, concluded the day by presenting GKTW with a $5,000 check. “We definitely appreciated the opportunity. I am delighted, surprised and impressed by what happened here today. This aligns with our corporate values of integrity, safety and citizenship, and this experience has allowed us to express these today.”

Genie team members were so moved by the experience that another $2,800 was raised through individual team member contributions.