A Do it Best Corp. member located in Wellington, Ohio, Farm & Home Hardware supplies the community with much more than outdoor power equipment and plants. Farm & Home Hardware’s mission is to “build our community,” and no donation is too big or too small for the family-owned business. For instance, Farm & Home has been known to support everything from spaghetti dinners and garden walks to youth baseball and softball teams. Currently, the Farm & Home team is part of a local effort, with Main Street Wellington, to revitalize the facade of numerous buildings in the business’s beloved hometown. Farm & Home even hosts numerous in-store appreciation events that are geared toward supporting its loyal customers and helping its community.
Farm & Home has offered this type of support to its community for generations. “We try to donate however we can to our community, and it’s not always a monetary contribution,” says Laurie Hammersmith, general manager of Farm & Home. “If Girl Scouts want to sell cookies, they’re at our door. If the Salvation Army needs a place to collect, they can ring their bell at our door.”
The Farm & Home team also donates time to the community by sending out volunteers for local events and by training local special education students in an in-store work program. Also, on Farm & Home’s website, visitors can view a “Community Hub,” where they can easily access community event information and school calendars.
One of the business’s biggest annual campaigns is called “Coats for Kids.” Each November, Farm & Home collects new-to-slightly used coats for members of the local community. In exchange, customers who offer their coats receive a coupon to use on their next purchase.
“We’ve ranged from 80 all the way up to 150 coats collected for this event,” Hammersmith says. “There is a definite need in our community, and we are happy to help.”
Every generation matters to Farm & Home. “If we don’t support out community, our customers, how can we expect them to make Farm & Home their store?” Hammersmith explains. “We want to be their go-to store. It’s our responsibility to nurture that relationship and to take care of every customer who comes through our doors. We have been stewards of the community for over 50 years, and we plan on continuing that tradition in the years to come.”
Ray Jerousek, Sr. first moved his family to Wellington from Cleveland because he believed in the dream of a downtown, go-to hardware store. In 1960, Farm & Home opened its doors. Today, Scott Jerousek is a third-generation business owner. He was brought up around the business, and he was shown how important charitable work is for the surrounding communities.
“As a third-generation hardware guy, I understand that strong communities support local businesses,” Jerousek says. “When you make philanthropy a business focus, the payback is more than just money. Entrepreneurship is in my blood, and I can’t imagine life any other way.”
It’s all part of Farm & Home’s continued mission to help “build our community.” As the business’s charitable campaigns show, the team isn’t just building the community for today, but rather, for the future generations in the years to come.
For more information about Farm & Home Hardware, visit www.farmandhomehardware.com.
Read more about Coats for Kids, community support, Do it Best Corp, independent hardware stores, Indie Acts of Kindness.
