Rite Aid's Miracle Balloon Campaign Gets Personal

Large green hats, flashy pom-poms, trifold poster boards, and walls of red and yellow paper balloons. If you walk in a Rite Aid store this month, you’ll likely notice that some things are different. This is the time of year for Rite Aid’s Miracle Balloon campaign to raise money for the Children’s National through the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) program, and employees throughout the region are using their most creative tactics to beat their company’s fundraising record.

Rite Aid has been a national partner of CMN for more than 20 years. Since 1994, Rite Aid has raised more than $72 million, and they raised $6 million in 2015 alone. In this region, which includes 106 store locations throughout Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and D.C., Rite Aid raised $132,891 last year for families at Children’s National.

Ken Martindale, chief executive officer of Rite Aid stores and president of the Rite Aid Foundation, said, “Everyone at Rite Aid is extremely proud of our 20-year partnership with Children’s Miracle Network, and I look forward to seeing our associates do all that they can to ensure this year’s campaign is one to remember.”

Rite Aid’s number one fundraising campaign is the Miracle Balloon campaign. Each year, for a seven-week period, Rite Aid cashiers, pharmacists, and associates invite customers to purchase a Miracle Balloons for a donation of one dollar. Each balloon has about seven dollars of coupons that the customer can use at the store. Stores create a display of their paper balloons, and compete with their “partner” stores in the area to see who can sell the most balloons.

Employees are getting more creative than ever to sell their balloons. At one store in Fredericksburg, Va., associates take turns wearing a large, green, fuzzy hat until they reach their fundraising goal for the day. Then, they get to pass it on to the next colleague. Other stores will raffle off iPads, and each Miracle Balloon sold equals one raffle ticket. Still other stores host bake sales, cookouts, or contests, all to raise money to support local children and families.

Find your local Rite Aid store and support the Miracle Balloon campaign.