With restaurant servers experiencing an especially tough time right now, Jill Carrico came up with a way for the community to show their support. Every $10 donation to Be the Light Candle Co. garners an entry into a giveaway, with all of the funds going to a local server of the winner’s choice.
Carrico has family members and friends in the service industry, and she saw the impact the pandemic and subsequent restrictions had on the people who rely so heavily on the daily interaction with others.
“Whenever the servers got laid off because of the orders that shut restaurants down, that meant for three weeks the servers weren’t going to have any kind of income,” she said. “That’s their livelihood. If we’re not going to the restaurants, they’re not getting paid.”
Being in the midst of the holiday season only amplified the issue, Carrico said, so she talked to her husband about how they could help.
Each week, Carrico selects a new set of candles to give away. Anyone can donate $10, and each donation is worth one entry into the giveaway. Drawings are held on Saturday’s, and the winner also chooses which local server receives the money raised.
The server receives 100% of the money donated.
While the initial idea was to only do the contest for the three weeks that restaurants were closed, Carrico said she plans to continue doing it through at least the end of the year.
“At the end of three weeks, they’re still going to need money,” she said. “It’s just a way to help out and get awareness out there. Hopefully we have some giving hearts to try to make somebody happy. … People are struggling right now. If I can help out in a little bitty way like this, give away a few candles, then make somebody happy, that’s all that matters to me.”
For more information, visit the Be the Light Candle Facebook page.
