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When wildfires swept through Northern California in September, customers knew to turn to Pedrotti Ace Hardware if they wanted to help victims.
Owner Gene Pedrotti had set up a charitable trust several years ago to match shoppers’ donations to Red Cross fundraisers, and that funding has gone around the world.
Last year, the Benicia, California, store collected donations for people impacted by an earthquake in Napa, California. In the past, customers have given to victims of an earthquake in Pakistan, Hurricane Katrina, the massive tsunami in Japan and a recent earthquake in Nepal.
Charitable giving comes naturally in a service-oriented industry, Pedrotti says.
“It’s a great business to be in, because you’re helping people every day. This is just a natural aspect of that.”
The California wildfires weren’t a threat to Benicia-area residents, but were close enough to impact friends and family.
“We could see the towers of clouds climbing into the sky. It looked like a nuclear blast,” Pedrotti says.
Immediately after the fires started, Pedrotti Ace customers began asking if they could give money to help the people who lost their homes. And after years of charitable giving, the store was ready to collect donations.
“This is very routine for us now, and our customers have come to expect it,” Pedrotti says. Within six weeks, the small town contributed more than $15,000 in donations, including the matching funds.
