On April 13, 2023, just before 7:00pm CST, Russell Cellular hit $1,000,000 raised through our RC Cares program. One million dollars! That seems crazy for me to just say those words. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a milestone I knew we could and would hit eventually. I actually set a goal of reaching that mark in 5 years. We started that journey in July of 2018 selling RC Cares Products, taking donations from customers and actually donating to both projects and our Employee Emergency Fund ourselves and with over 2 months to spare here we are celebrating reaching this goal.
Russell Cellular Cares
The heart of Russell Cellular has always been to give back, to our RC family, to our customers and the many communities we serve all across this country. Not for sales, not for recognition, but just to simply make a difference in people’s lives. Jeff and Kym Russell have made this a staple since beginning this journey almost 30 years ago. In fact, before I started my journey working for the RC Family, the Russell Family was investing in outreach projects my wife and I were leading in our hometown of Ava, Missouri. One in particular was the school supply project we helped start several years ago. Everyone knows how expensive school supplies can be, especially for parents that have multiple children in school. My wife Lacey had it on her heart to help so we launched a supply drive to help elementary kids and their families in our community. The very first year we approached Jeff Russell about helping us. He donated $500 and we thought that was the most amazing thing. That first year, between Russell Cellular and our church, we provided school supplies for 50 kids. For the next 11 years RC was always our largest investor, donating thousands of dollars over that time and what started as RC and one church providing supplies for 50 kids turned into RC leading over 50 businesses and individuals supplying school supplies to thousands of students from multiple schools in southwest Missouri year after year.
Projects From the Heart
This is just one example and trust me when I say I could share so many more. This is the heart of our company because this is the heart of our owners and our leaders. And again, we don’t have to do any of this…We get to! Since July of 2018 we have hosted over 1600 Russell Cellular Cares outreach projects that have impacted thousands of lives by providing both financial support through the money we raised as well as showing the heart of Russell Cellular by caring for and supporting those in need. We have invested in students and teachers and school districts, active military and veterans. We’ve been able to support families going through tragedy, individuals battling serious illness and local organizations trying to better their community. We have helped build homes through Habitat for Humanity, helped provided Christmas for kids and families through Toys for Tots and volunteered our time in countless locations across our country. During this we have supported 498 RC Team Members through our Employee Emergency Fund giving, helping team members who have lost their homes to fires and natural disasters, team members who have battled cancer and faced emergency medical situations, team members who have lost immediate family members, and helped the families of our RC team members who passed away during this time.
Inspiring Those Around Us
Now please know, I don’t say of this to say, “look at what we’ve done”. We don’t do any of this for recognition. I say all of this to both inspire and challenge you. People can be difference makers if they truly want to. And that doesn’t always depend on how much money you raise or the number of zeros on a check. Yes, we raised $1,000,000. Yes, that’s an amazing thing. And while yes, we did have some bigger projects during that time that raised a lot of money, the majority of that amount came from a few hundred dollars here and a few hundred dollars there. It came from $1 donations from our customers, as well as team members donating $2 a month to our Employee Emergency Fund. See, more times than not, it’s not about the money at all. Yes, it helps no doubt, but the most important thing will always be that someone took the time to notice a need and then made a commitment to do whatever they could to help meet that need. Maybe that does involve a financial donation. Maybe it involves donating your time. And maybe it just involves you being present in someone’s life that needs you to just simply be there.
Brayden’s Fight
When I think about the $1,000,000 we raised, honestly, I don’t think about the money. I think about the faces of those we raised it for. I think about the families that were impacted. Like young Brayden in the picture below. Brayden is in the fight for his life, battling a rare form of stomach cancer. District Sales Manager, Audrianna Ediger and Regional Director, Krissa Shewey rallied their region to support Brayden and his family on his journey. Yes, they raised over $3,000 for his family and that is amazing! But more than that, they noticed. They noticed Brayden was in a fight and they decided to fight with him. They decided to do what they could to help Brayden with his need and that is worth far more than any check ever will be.
Sometime today or at least in the very near future you will be faced with an opportunity. Someone you know or come in contact with will have a need. The question is what will you do to help meet that need? As Audrianna said, “Together, through one small act of kindness at a time, we can change the world.” I’d say we all believe that to be true. But it’s when we put that belief into action that real differences are made. Give it a try! I can promise you lives will be changed in the process…one of which will be yours!
Learn More About RC Cares
If you would like to learn more about our philanthropic arm of Russell Cellular, RC Cares, then click here!
