Gracious. Thankful. Appreciative.
Sears, a major retailer, with the help of outside donors, created a holiday gift card giveaway to active duty military personnel and their families. The online registration time for Heroes at Home was limited to a few hours on 31 Aug 2011.
There was a computer glitch. Some entries got in before the start time. There was a problem registering the birth month of August, among other site issues. People took to the Facebook page for the retailer and it got a bit negative.
Let’s keep this in perspective. This is a business which decided to make a non-need based gesture to the military community with the help of volunteer donors. Anyone who fit the basic criteria that they established could enter. It is to show the military gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation for the fourth year in a row. Since donations start on 4 September, will the negative comments have an impact?
As of this writing there are over 2,000 posts on this retailer’s Facebook page with complaints about the program. From why it was just active-duty status, why not overseas members, rank, why did people get cards multiple times, and a host of other gripes.
A big hand to the military community who took the time to be positive about this gift in the same forum. Some people commented that they declined to register for their own reasons. Others acknowledged that the system didn’t accept their entry and they were fine with that, however they were still thankful and appreciative for those who will benefit from it.
The bottom line – This retailer simply didn’t have to do this for anyone.
photo by: metaphoricalplatypus
About Seasoned Air Force Spouse
Comments
Interesting points Seasoned-air.
Thanks for putting this in perspective. I wish more people would think about this as a great thing Sears does opposed to something Sears owes to everyone in uniform and their neighbors…
I agree. It got a little petty.
You don't get angry at someone for trying to do a good thing. Not only that, but it changes the appearance of the military community to those people affected. I hope those people with their negative comments feel ashamed, because I know I sure do. We are all role-models and apparently some among us are forgetting that.
Role models of what to who?
Wow, spouse2000, i bet you were one of those complaining that the Sears site was broken!
No I was not. I am grateful for what I have and anything else is a bonus. I rely on myself and say thank you when someone helps me. I know there are many families that have a more difficult situation then I have and I try to help them as much as possible. I don't feel we are special or should be put on a pedestal. I really dislike whining and complaining. I try to be positive even if I have to fake it until I make it. Plus, I didn't even know about the Sears thing. It seems those who got it should be thankful and those who did not should remember that Sears doesn't owe you anything.
And still wondering about that role model thing.
If military spouses didn't have something to complain about they wouldn't know what to do with themselves. As a woman who spent 7 years active duty and now 16 years as the wife of an active duty soldier ( who was enlisted for 10 years and an officer for almost 10 years now) I have heard the gamut of complaints and it is sad. While I have had my moments of frustration with this lifestyle, I could never imagine complaining about something like this. We as military families are not special, nor do we require special treatment. I say get over yourselves (general here) and be grateful for what you have, a husband/wife with a job, free medical, a place roof over your heads, food on your plate, and a whole community of resources that should not be taken advantage of!
High-five Heather.!
I think that we, as military spouses, deserve recognition, but certainly not free stuff. I think that it's wonderful that Sears has extended this program to us and we should be grateful for it.
I was really embarrassed when I heard about wives complaining about it. But, like in any race, country, family, religion, etc, there is always a bad apple, or a few, like in this case, and I am sure that Sears is aware of this.
Although I didn't need to apply for the program, I am still grateful for this opportunity that military wives have to get help for Christmas. We need to just be grateful it's available and be grateful for what we have. We have so much more than a lot of people have in this country right now.
As a wife, this is just embarassing all around. I am thankful for what companies offer to do for our families, but we already get many benefits because of our service members. If you receive something, say thank you. If you don't, it wasn't yours in the first place.