CES Valparaiso Helps Make-A-Wish® Make an Impact
Frank Farkas, the branch manager at CES Valparaiso, is known for putting together legendary Counter Day events with vendors. They’re so well-known — and vendors like them so much — that he has to actually schedule them out in advance just to keep up with the demand.
“We try to do at least one counter day every other month, but this time we wanted to do something different,” Frank explained. “Everyone here comes from a place where we like to give back one way or another. We do it in our personal lives, and there’s no reason that we couldn’t bring that over to the professional side of things, too.”
In the past, counter days at CES Valparaiso have exclusively showcased popular vendors. But, with the recent partnership between City Electric Supply and Make-A-Wish®, Frank decided to support the non-profit at an event.
That’s why for his most recent counter day, expectations were especially high. Farkas and his team put in a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure its success.
“We put three to four weeks into planning and coordinating with vendors SLG Lighting and Pass & Seymour. They were all on board to help us out with promoting not just their products but also Make-A-Wish,” Frank said.
And vendors weren’t the only ones to pitch in with promoting the event.
CES Valparaiso Raises Over $400 for Make-A-Wish
“A member of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce helped us promote the event locally. We even advertised it through as many sources as we could, even on social media,” Frank explained.
And the event turned out to be quite a success!
“We sold raffle tickets for prizes that were donated by Generac and Milwaukee, and we had demonstrations from F4P and other vendors,” said Frank. “There was also a corn hole game set up, a Mexican food truck called Leroy’s Hot Stuff that served food, pop, and water, and up to 80 people attended the event.”
By the end of the day, the Valparaiso branch raised over $400 for Make-A-Wish!
The Unexpected Donor
“We were happy with the outcome,” said Frank. “There was one gentleman who told me that he was once a recipient of a Make-A-Wish and that he was very excited to be there to donate in any way that he could.”
It was an unexpected, full-circle moment for the man and a memorable moment for Frank.
“This event was different than normal. The gathering had a bigger purpose knowing that we were helping Make-A-Wish make an impact on people’s lives,” said Frank.
Thank you to Frank, CES Valparaiso, vendors, and customers for supporting Make-A-Wish with this event! We can’t wait to see what you do next.