As part of a longstanding partnership with Kids Help Phone, discount retailer Giant Tiger has created a line of T-shirts to mark Anti-Bullying Day on Feb. 22. The custom shirts will be sold online and in the retailer’s 264 stores for $12, with all proceeds going to Kids Help Phone.
Giant Tiger has donated more than $280,000 to Kids Help Phone since 2004 to support the development and delivery of services including the crisis text line, live chat counselling, and peer-to-peer programs across the country.
Organizations that support family physical and mental health is one of the retailer’s charitable pillars, said Alison Scarlett, head of public relations and communications with Giant Tiger.
The pink shirts bear the message “Bully Free Zone” or “Non A L’Intimidation” and also come with a detachable Kids Help Phone contact card designed to be used as a bookmark. Each card features the charity organization’s new “Feel Out Loud” positioning and branding as well as its URL, toll-free line and text number.
Giant Tiger is promoting the program through its flyer and in-store signage, a paid social campaign running through Feb. 21, and its owned and operated channels, including banner ads and a community landing page on GiantTiger.com. It has also enlisted influencers to promote the program.
“We feel it will ensure that there’s further access to youth mental health support, and it’s just one of the tangible ways we’re creating positive change within the communities,” said communications and community events manager Jessica Charbonneau.
The retailer has previously developed charitable merchandise programs for the national Indigenous charity Indspire, and the breast cancer organization CURE Foundation. In March, it is partnering with the Canadian Women’s Foundation on an initiative timed for International Women’s Day.
“[Charitable merchandise] is certainly a space where we are always looking to do a little bit more in, but we want to be sure we’re doing it in the right way, with the right charity, and with the right products,” said Scarlett.
Each store in the Giant Tiger network features a quote from founder Gordon Reid on its wall that reads “When your customers are your neighbours, you want to do things right.” It’s a philosophy that guides the company’s charitable endeavours, said Scarlett. “It truly is part of our foundational DNA, and our outlook for everything we do,” she said.
