Rally for Change

Anytime you check-out at City Market, you can choose to "round up" your total to the nearest dollar. At the end of the month, we donate 50% of those funds to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 40% to an organization that aligns with our Global Ends, and 10% to a local non-profit.

In August, you collectively donated $24,889.23! 

  • $12,444.62 for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf
  • $9,955.69 for the SEABA
  • $2,488.92 for CarShare Vermont

September's 50% Partner: 

Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is the largest direct service anti-hunger organization in Vermont. The Food Shelf provides critical nutrition assistance to more than 11,000 Chittenden County residents who struggle with food insecurity and hunger every year. Food Shelf programs provide groceries, hot meals, job training and support for thousands of our neighbors.

September's 40% Partner:

Local Motion

Local Motion is Vermont's member-supported nonprofit promoting people powered transportation and recreation across the state. Their mission is to build a better Vermont through biking and walking.

They make biking and walking safe, accessible and fun by:

  • Teaching safe biking skills to kids and adults statewide through programs like Bike Smart.
  • Helping communities become better places to bike and walk through programs like their Safe and Complete Streets.
  • Inspiring people to bike by offering services like event Valet Bike Parking that encourages people to choose their bike over their car.
  • Setting an example as a leader in the role that recreational walking and biking can have on local economies, operating a thriving bike rental business and acclaimed bike ferry.

Learn more at www.localmotion.org. And join Local Motion and the Burlington community on September 30 in the Old North End to celebrate biking and walking during Open Streets 2018! Learn about how you and your family can join the car-free fun: www.openstreetsbtv.com

September's 10% Partner:

Our Community Cares Camp (OCCC)

Incorporated in 2009, OCCC is a summer food service program and free enrichment camp that serves the five towns of Chittenden East. They reach children who are food insecure, low-income, and/or under-resourced. Their programs provide nutritious meals and give kids access to art, music, sports, nature, books, STEM, and other positive experiences and resources that spark interests. OCCC’s camper-to-counselor ladder builds leadership skills, provides job training, and helps campers envision future success. Their innovative partnerships allow us to provide free transportation and to use community spaces and resources. They feed children, provide a safe and caring environment, build resilience and social skills, combat summer slide, close the opportunity gap, and strengthen community.

Mission and vision statements

  • Creating a caring, nourishing community for Chittenden East children where every child can find success.
  • Developing a rich culture of community that includes health, safety, happiness, gratitude, and citizenship that the campers carry with them throughout their lives.

Service area

They serve children in the five towns of the Chittenden East Supervisory Union: Richmond, Bolton, Huntington, Jericho, and Underhill. Their camp is located at Camel’s Hump Middle School in Richmond. They also provide food to the Jericho summer rec programs at Jericho Elementary School and Brown’s River Middle School and to libraries in Huntington and Jericho.

About Rally for Change

In October 2014, City Market updated its program for collecting donations at the register! Previously, we selected a different non-profit each month and donated 5 cents for each bag our customers reused (our "Change for Local Non-Profits" program). Every register also included tear off coupons so customers could donate to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. In addition, each year in February we sold $1 Hearts for the Intervale Center and in September $1 Lunch Trays for Hunger Free Vermont, with all donations going to each respective organization. We've consolidated all of these programs into our new "Rally for Change" program which allows customers to "round up" their order at each register, each time they check-out at the Co-op.

In the name of education, opportunity, and streamlining how we do things here at the Co-op, we created a Rally for Change program! This program allows customers to “round up” their payment at the register (e.g., a $25.42 checkout could be rounded up to $26 for a $0.58 donation). The Co-op will then donate this “round up” change to a variety of local non-profits each month (so, not just one!) that are doing amazing work in our community. Want to round up to the nearest five or ten dollars? You can do that too! Each month, we’ll share who will be receiving the donations (in our newsletter, with store signage and through staff education).

With more than 4,000 transactions each day through our registers, we all have the opportunity to share what we think of as “small change” to rally for bigger community-wide change. This new Rally program will take the place of the “tear off” coupons we have at the registers and will also take the place of our Change for Local Non-Profits (or bag refunds) program.

Not to worry, a large percentage of each month’s donation will go to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and we anticipate that this program will actually increase their donations. Through this new program, we will also continue to offer donations to local non-profits that are on the waiting list for our previous "Change for Local Non-Profits" bag refund program (and any new ones that we add to the list!). Here’s how the donation percentages will work out each month:

  • 50% to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, every month

  • 40% to an organization that aligns with the Co-op’s Global Ends 

  • 10% to a local non-profit that may not directly align so closely with our Global Ends, but still works to make our community a better place (much like the Change for Local Non-Profits Program)

This new program gives our cashiers and staff an opportunity to engage with our customers and together we’ll both support and learn more about the organizations that make our community a better place to live. We’re excited to give it a try and are interested to hear what you think!

Past Recipients

Do you run a local non-profit that aligns with our Global Ends?

Your organization can apply to become a Rally for Change 10% Partner. We are currently filling slots 4 years out (it's a popular program and our community has many amazing non-profits!). Visit our donations page to learn how to apply.