Orchard Supply Hardware Holds Job Fairs in Sonoma and Solano Counties

Approximately 140 new Jobs Created when the Two New Retail Outlets Open

San Jose, CA—July 1, 2009—Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH), the California-based DIY home and garden retailer, will hold job fairs July 7 and 8 in Santa Rosa and Fairfield, respectively, to staff new stores opening in those cities this fall. OSH sees these areas as growing markets that will respond to its extraordinary customer service and value. The company expects to employ approximately 70 people at each location…

OSH is known for its knowledgeable sales associates, friendly customer service and its complete selection of tools and merchandise to meet the needs of DIY customers. The company seeks people with outgoing personalities, a willingness to learn and the motivation to provide legendary customer service.

Sonoma County Job Link
2245 Challenger Way
Santa Rosa
July 7
9:00 am — 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm — 5:00 pm

EDD Office
320 Campus Lane
Fairfield
July 8
8:30 am — 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm — 4:45 pm

Jobs available include sales associates and cashiers, department leads, pick-up and receiving associates as well as clerk/auditors. For more information, visit www.osh.com. Prospective employees are asked to bring a resume. The job fairs are “meet and greets” and an opportunity to get to know OSH managers. Actual hiring will take place in the stores after the job fairs.

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About OSH
Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH), headquartered in San Jose, California, is a leading chain of home improvement and garden retail stores with 86 locations throughout California. As part of Sears Holdings, the third largest US retailer, OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware) has revenue approaching $1B and industry leading profitability. With more than 75 years of serving California’s home and garden needs, OSH maintains the same simple retail philosophy developed long ago, “Take good care of our customers and they will take good care of you.”

OSH primarily serves retail do-it-yourself (DIY) customers with a distinctive offering of convenience, product selection and customer service. Core products consist of merchandise designed to meet the recurring home improvement, maintenance and repair needs of DIY customers, primarily in the hardware, industrial, plumbing, tools, paint, electrical, garden and nursery categories. Eighteen stores also sell a full complement of home appliances representing all major appliance brands including Kenmore, Whirlpool, GE, Maytag and Kitchen Aid.

OSH has a rich heritage, starting as a farmers’ cooperative in 1931. For the past 75 years, OSH has been committed to offering its customers legendary service, selection and convenience. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.osh.com.

Contact:
Brenna Bolger, PRx
(408) 838-6673

For OSH:
Sunny Chhabra, Marketing
(408) 375-6962

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak launched the 15,000 Rubber Ducks That Raced to the Finish Line for Local Charities

On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, more than 3,000 people attended the 2nd Annual Silicon Valley Duck Race and Family Festival where 15,000 numbered “adopted,” rubber ducks raced to the finish line for local charities at Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos, CA.

The Silicon Valley Duck Race—a partnership between Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley and twenty-one other local non-profits—raised money to help provide the increase in services needed by families in this economic downturn.

Each adopted duck was numbered and entered into the Duck Race. The top placing ducks won thousands of dollars worth of prizes for their holders including the Grand Prize—a trip for four to Trocones, Mexico valued at $8,000. The Duck Race was supported by more than 100 local businesses and individuals who donated more than $30,000 worth of prizes and services to support the race.

Other prizes included a $3,000 “Year of Shoes” shopping spree from Footwear, etc., jewelry from Vardy’s Jewelers valued at $1,200, a $2,500 one-year family membership from the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, a $1,000 “Way to Monterey” package including a foursome of golf at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach and much more!

Local companies and individuals supporting the Duck Race as Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors included Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods, Footwear, Etc., Dr. Gordon Levin, El Camino Hospital, EBay, Jon and Marsha Witkin, Kragen Properties, Wells Fargo Bank and Allied Waste Services, to name a few.

Media partners included PRx Communication Strategists, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, KBAY & KEZR radio stations and the Camera Cinemas.

PRx Communications Strategists has been the major media relations sponsor for the Duck Race since its inception in 2008. For this year’s festival, PRx was able to generate major TV, radio and print coverage for the event including KGO TV Ch 7 (ABC), KPIX TV Ch 5 (CBS) and KNTV Ch 11 (NBC) and the front cover of The Valley section in the San Jose Mercury News. The stories were picked up in other major markets in California including Los Angeles, San Diego and Palm Springs.

San Jose Mercury News [6/22/09]: Woz wades in

Los Gatos Weekly-Times [6/16/09]: Ducks taking over Vasona Lake this weekend

San Jose Mercury News, Sal Pizarro [06/13/09]: Adopt a duck for a good cause this month

Mobile Giving with PRx

Haven’t heard of mobile donations? You will. This technology is on the fast track for many nonprofits and political fundraising organizations as a way to access new donors. The value of mobile donations is their immediacy and ease-of-use. Donors simply text a keyword, such as “HOPE,” to a specified “short code” number, such as 12345, and a $5 or $10 donation is automatically charged to their mobile phone bill.

Prior to 2008, mobile donations were stymied due to the high fees charged by the telephone carriers. That changed last year when the Mobile Giving Foundation (MGF), a Washington-based nonprofit, came into the picture. The MGF has been able to broker deals with all the major phone carriers in the US to waive all fees for text message donations, allowing the nonprofits to collect 90 percent of the donation (10 percent goes to the MGF).

More than 150 nonprofits such as United Way, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, UNICEF, and the Red Cross, to name a few, have already jumped on board. Versign and the MGF predict that more than $5 million will be raised this year with mobile giving.

Mobile donations won’t help bring an immediate windfall to your organization. The donation levels are small (the current limit is $10) and nonprofits are limited to 5 text donations per month. But, the technology can serve as a way to open the door to a new demographic that you might not otherwise reach. And, it is especially good for targeting the technology savvy Gen Y and, to a lesser extent, Gen X generations. Check out these stats:

WHY GO MOBILE?

• 270 million mobile subscribers
• In 2008, 3.5 billion text messages (SMS) were sent every day—that averages to about 13 messages per day per American
• In 2008, the mobile industry racked up more than $32 billion in data-service revenue
• 68 percent of people 18-24, 37 percent of people 35-44 and 14 percent of those over 65 use text messaging
  (The main target group for mobile donations is really the 18-44 age group.)

The two most important pieces of information you can gather from your donors are: 1) an opt-in email address and 2) an opt-in mobile phone number. With this information, a nonprofit has the ability to go back to its donor base time and again with complementary messages that together strengthen the donation pitch. Mobile technology can help you to get both of these.

Think about this: President Obama successfully used the mobile platform to help get him to the White House. Obama’s people had the insight long ago to realize they could leverage the mobile channel to do much more than just solicit donations. They could also engage supporters, mobilize volunteers and propel voters to the polls. And a recent article in Mobile Market says that by 2012 mobile voting could become a reality. Click here for more.

When you encourage donors to opt–in to your mobile program, you are then able to send alerts, updates and news of events through SMS messages. These personalized messages will improve the relationship between the nonprofits and the donor, and help you to push through the cacophony of marketing messages they’re already receiving to actually get their attention!

There are limitations on who can register with the MGF for mobile giving. You must meet the following requirements:

• US Non-Profit Organization registered as a 501c3 with at least $500,000 in annual revenues
• 501c3 must be in good standing for at least one year
• Patriot Act Compliant
• Must provide Form 990, Letter of Determination (Form 1045), and other documents as required

Mobile marketing, of course, doesn’t end with mobile giving. There are many other options to consider for your mobile campaign, some of which I will talk more about in next week’s post. I’ll list a few companies here, and how they used the mobile platform:

• The Secret: Premium subscription content
• Armani Exchange: Mobile coupons and promotions
• High School Musical 3: Fan engagement
• Shopaholic: Promotion, sponsorship and ticket sales
• Kaiser Permanente: Build awareness during federal open enrollment period
• The Cancer Action Network: Mobile advocacy

The ins and outs of mobile donations can be tricky. You can’t deal directly with the MGF and must work with one of its recommend providers. You should also be considering your larger donor communications strategy and how mobile marketing fits into that, especially as an adjunct to direct mail, events and personal solicitation. PRx has years of experience in philanthropy management and donor outreach.

If you’d like to set up an introductory meeting with our team at PRx to discuss the many ways you can use a mobile platform to reach out to, engage and garner support from your customers, donors or constituents, email me at tawnya(at)prxinc.com or call 408.287.1700.

That’s why I found my conversation so interesting with Steve Tully, former Chair to the Silicon Valley Capital Club Board of Governors and Founder of Advantage Office Furniture which resells used (Fortune 100) and remanufactured office furniture. Steve is a firm believer in “constant contact” (and I’m not talking about the email service provider).

It’s serving him well. When most businesses are losing clients, Steve’s revenues are actually going up. (And that’s for someone who’s selling office furniture to businesses in a down economy — go figure.) So what’s he doing? Well, I asked.

You mentioned that your business is actually doing well despite the economy. What are the top three things you’re doing that is making it possible for you to increase sales while everyone else is struggling?

1. I daily track people I meet into my contacts file and follow–up with them with an email the same day.
2. I daily place 20 to 25 listings on Craiglist and follow up on reply responses I receive back. (You can replace Craigslist with your own sales channel.)
3. I daily see ten clients face–to–face (eyeball–to–eyeball).

What would you recommend people “change” that would make them more successful with business development?

1. One needs to be totally honest with themselves and the team.
2. Members should share business projects.
3. Keep a 12–hour workday.
4. Divide your workday into four segments — 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• Three time slots for email communications
• Personal contact and communication with clients three or four times daily
• One daily outside group meeting — other than your business
• Close two deals a day (receive payment) and present two deals per day (viable sales presentations)

Here’s another interesting tidbit about Steve. He’s now in his seventies, but had no problem jumping in when it came to adopting new business channels for his company. He’s got videos on YouTube, is running ads on Craigslist and more. He says that the majority of his sales now come from online channels.

Check out more of Steve’s YouTube videos. It just goes to show that anyone can get started, and you don’t have to be a pro.

Steve Tully
Former Chair, Board of Governors, Silicon Valley Capital Club
Founder, Network Today,  Young Executives Club and Kiwanis Executive Club for the Silicon Valley Capital Club
Founder, President and CEO, Advantage Office Furniture, Inc.
www.advantageoffice.net

PRx: Is your role changing at all with the economic downturn? You write a lot about nonprofits and arts groups, about their events and promotions and about the companies that support them. Is that the mission of your column?

Pizarro: Certainly one of the roles I and my column have, especially in this ever-shrinking economy which has severely impacted newspapers, is that I’m getting more things on my plate. My role has expanded over last few years. We used to have a dedicated philanthropy reporter and there were business reporters who covered corporate philanthropy as part of their beat, whether they were covering Applied Materials, eBay, Apple or any of a lot of companies.

That role has shrunk along with the staff, and more nonprofit stuff has come my way. It’s one of the surprising things about how the column has evolved. We emphasize the good news that our corporate citizens are doing and there’s a lot out there and that balances what we see on the front page and in the business pages.

The column was kind of nebulous when I took over from Leigh. One of the goals was to continue the legacy, to report on community organizations and highlight community names, and while corporate figures were part of it, they were not as big a part because we had other reporters covering them. So if NVIDIA or Applied made grants, that hadn’t been on my radar until now. Now we have a lot of news from the corporate community relations field in the column because no one else is covering it.

PRx: Can you tell if the economic slowdown, the recession, means that corporations are doing more or less?

Pizarro: It’s a little bit of both. One thing I’ve seen is that corporate sponsorships are way down across the board when it comes to events and other campaigns. The economy just isn’t there for them and they’re pulling back, but many of the companies are still continuing their programs. We’re seeing a lot more involvement on the employees’ part, that they’re volunteering more and doing more when their employers are able to do less.

Where it really hurts now is event sponsorships, like the San Jose Jazz festival and other big sponsored events, where they’re looking for sponsors for the bigger levels, the title and presenting sponsorships, and are now getting smaller sponsorships from the same companies. They’re still sponsoring but at lower levels.

PRx: What about the media companies? Have they cut back, too?

Pizarro: Yes, we get that question. When the Merc’s old parent company Knight Ridder went away, that was a big loss to the community in terms of grants and sponsorships. But our sister papers, the community papers, still do a lot of that, and the Merc still acts as a media sponsor for many events and nonprofit promotions, but we’re missing the corporate support Knight Ridder showed, especially as it was headquartered in San Jose. Our new owner, Media News, encourages the newspaper to do a lot, but it doesn’t have the ties Knight Ridder did since it isn’t headquartered here.

PRx: You’ve been a reporter for a long time, belying your youthful good looks. What still surprises you, or is there nothing new in the news business?

Pizarro: The No. 1 thing that surprises me, especially after I started writing this column, is how much volunteering people do in this valley. A lot of it is really invisible, but you have a lot of people who work crazy hours as it is in whatever field they’re in and then put in time at soup kitchens, schools, nonprofit agencies and the like. Nobody gets enough credit for that.

As for the news business itself, we’ve got new surprises all the time, but most of them aren’t good. I am, however, continually surprised by people who don’t realize that most of the news they read on the Internet, whether it’s through Google News or links from a blog they like, originates at a newspaper company. You can endlessly debate the virtues of print vs. the web, but right now, without the print product, the companies that produce that news can’t stay in business and that’s not good for anyone.

Copy-writing and graphic design on an eight-page brochure for the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative.

Mark Walker is the Managing Director of Global Community Affairs for Applied Materials. He’s been a leader in the business and non–profit communities in Silicon Valley for years and is well respected as an experienced, authoritative voice in the industry who can get things done. Prior to working with Applied, he was the CEO of United Way Silicon Valley where he played an instrumental role in transitioning the agency to its new funding model—a monumental task. Before that, he was in charge of SBC’s community relations in Silicon Valley.

We asked Mark for his thoughts on the changing landscape of media and how that affects his ability to do public outreach.

PRx: The San Francisco Chronicle’s recent announcement that the paper is in dire trouble is further evidence of the media industry’s deeper problems. The traditional channels of communication are closing as new ones are opening up, and this is changing how we as communicators get our message to the public.

—As we continue to lose our newspaper base (and for that matter, local TV and radio as well), how does that affect corporate community relations, i.e. in terms of how you deliver your message to various audiences (employees, the public, etc.?)

Mark: Adding value to the brand through community involvement has always been a challenge. Often, “traditional” media is reluctant to use “soft” news and unwilling to give identity to the company name behind community activities. The erosion of our newspaper base speaks less about corporate messaging but speaks volumes about lost opportunity for deep dialogue about civil society.

PRx—Are you doing things now that you weren’t doing five or 10 years ago? If so, what are they?

Mark: Today we are more focused on environmental philanthropy that we were 10 years ago. Setting company goals to reduce our carbon footprint 20 percent and leverage philanthropy to support our environmental business objectives is very new.

PRx—How do the Internet and social media affect the way in which you communicate and do outreach with your audiences? Do you feel it is easier or more difficult?

Mark: Our CEO started a blog more than a year ago for employees to engage in issues every couple of weeks. It has become a successful communication tool. We use our Intranet almost exclusively for employee communication and use video as a medium frequently.

The Hearst Corp. made a huge announcement yesterday—quite a shocking one for those of us in the Bay Area. According to execs, The San Francisco Chronicle is on the verge of total collapse and is at risk of disappearing.

Hearst said that if the savings cannot be accomplished ‘quickly,’ the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close The Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year.

Some Web purists may be saying, “Good riddance! Newspapers are a product whose time has passed. They use up paper, are inky and messy, and they were simply arrogant with their high-priced advertising.” Hold on folks. Let’s really think about this.

• Newspapers (and other ‘old–school’ media channels) still play an essential role in the online/offline mix, as they provide the root content that thousands of bloggers and aggregate sites pull into their site and comment on, mash–up, etc.
• Newspapers maintain professional journalistic standards that are still very much needed in this world. Now more than ever, when hundreds of different versions of a story—true and untrue—can propagate throughout the Internet instantaneously, we need a reliable source to go to. Here’s a shocker—most bloggers aren’t journalists and don’t abide by journalism standards of professionalism when reporting a story.
• Newspapers are a “centralized channel” through which we can disseminate information to a large audience. The online world is splitting this channel into a thousand tiny pieces—blogs, Web sites, aggregate sites, social media profiles and more—many of which are obscure and hard to find. How do you reach a mass local or regional audience? There isn’t yet a single blog site or Web site that can reach the depth and width of people that a newspaper can–especially on a local level.
• Newspaper stories are still the most credible in the eyes of the public. The impact of having a story in the paper is huge compared to having something on a blog site or Web site. In fact, it is that story in the paper that is often pushed out through the online channels.
• The death of newspapers (along with radio and television) means the age–old PR relationship between companies and the media is breaking down. Some may say this is a good thing, but hold on. Like it or not, PR serves a valuable role in pushing out information on what’s new and what’s happening. Reporters and PR people have always had a love/hate relationship, but it was one that was mutually beneficial. Most bloggers don’t understand that value of this or simple don’t care because they’re blogging from a very self–focused perspective. That’s bad, in my opinion. Everyone benefits when there is a strong channel for pushing out information. No one benefits when that channel closes down.

To read about what’s happening with The Chronicle, click here.

SAN JOSE, CA. (February 24, 2009) — San Jose Repertory Theatre prepares to make history with the world premiere of the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s international best-selling novel, The Kite Runner – a haunting story of friendship and redemption in modern Afghanistan. Adapted by Bay Area resident Matthew Spangler and directed by David Ira Goldstein, artistic director of the Arizona Theatre Company, The Kite Runner runs from March 21-April 19, 2009 at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio in downtown San Jose. Press Opening is March 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are available at the San Jose Rep Box Office at 101 Paseo de San Antonio or can be purchased online at www.SJRep.com or by calling (408) 367-7255.

The Kite Runner is a tale told through the lives of two boys growing up in Kabul in the same household, but in two starkly different worlds. Amir is the son of a wealthy yet emotionally distant businessman, while Hassan is the son of Amir’s father’s servant, a shunned ethnic minority. Despite the disparity in social positions, the two grow up inseparable until Amir and his father flee the country during the Soviet invasion. Years later, Amir returns to Afghanistan to seek out his old friend and atone for his youthful cowardice. But fate, global politics and historical tragedy threaten Amir’s ability to make amends for his past.

“The characters in The Kite Runner all struggle with the most basic of human emotions: love, envy, fear, joy and guilt,” observes Director David Ira Goldstein. “In Amir’s struggles, we all recognize our own failings, and in his redemption, we discover a hopeful way forward.”

“Its epic structure – spanning the continents and nearly 30 years – its powerful moments of high drama and its engaging characters make this an ideal story for live performance,”states Playwright Matthew Spangler. “I fell in love with the book and knew right away that it would make an excellent play.”

Spangler’s adaptation of The Kite Runner highlights the story of one nation’s struggle to triumph over the forces of violence – forces that continue to threaten Afghanistan. With the world’s attention once again focusing on Afghanistan, the production is as relevant today as when the book was first published in 2003. The novel enjoyed international success, was made into a thought-provoking movie and promises to create a sensation on the stage.

“When I wrote this book, I thought it would find its niche, most likely among readers who had an interest in the Middle East and Central Asia. I never expected this story to make the impact that it did,” states Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner. “Over the years, the story has continually confounded my expectations and expanded its readership. Again, I think it had to do with the universality of the themes. No matter where you are born, what language you speak or what religion you practice, there are human experiences that bind us all, and The Kite Runner speaks to those experiences.”

Khaled Hosseini, author of the international best-sellers The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, was born in 1965 and grew up in Kabul. Hosseini and his family were granted political asylum to the United States and moved to California in 1980. He earned a medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and was a practicing internist when he penned his first novel, The Kite Runner. In 2006, Hosseini was named a Goodwill Envoy for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two children.

Matthew Spangler is an assistant professor of Performance Studies in the departments of Theatre Arts and Communication Studies at San José State University. He has adapted more than 30 novels and short stories for productions throughout the U.S., France, England and Ireland.

David Ira Goldstein is the artistic director at the Arizona Theatre Company and directed the San Jose Rep’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As the artistic director of the Southwest’s largest professional theatre, Goldstein has directed more than 35 productions ranging from classics to new plays to musicals, including the world premieres of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Inventing van Gogh, Rocket Man, Private Eyes, Over the Moon and Dracula by Steven Dietz, One Crazy Day by Roger Downy and For Better or Worse by Geoff Hoyle.

The Kite Runner’s outstanding cast features actors from both sides of the country, including Barzin Akhavan (Amir), Demosthenes Chrysan (General Taheri), Gregor Paslawsky (Rahim Khan) and James Saba (Ali), all of New York City, and Thamos Fiscelle (Baba) of Los Angeles. Among the Bay Area talent are Craig Piaget (Young Amir), Lowell Abellon (Young Hassan), Rinabeth Apostol (Soraya) and Adam Yazbeck (Assef).

The world premiere production of The Kite Runner is presented by Hitachi Data Systems, co-sponsors are NBC 11 Bay Area and the San Jose Mercury News, the participating sponsor is SanDisk, and it’s supported, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose.

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About the Rep

San Jose Rep is the premier non-profit professional theatre company in the South Bay, presenting six main stage productions each year. As a major contributor to the South Bay’s cultural community for 27 years, the Rep’s mission is to engage, entertain and inspire people. The Rep produces innovative theatrical performances that offer fresh perspectives into the human condition, educational programs that promote life-long learning and outreach initiatives that benefit our diverse community. For more information, visit www.SJRep.com.

Contact:
Pam Kelly, PRx Communication Strategists
(408) 287-1700 office
(408) 483-2410 cell
pam_kelly@prxinc.com