Cupboard Persuasive Letter

Persuasive Letter—Utah County Baby Care Cupboard

The Utah County Baby Care Cupboard (UCBCC) is an organization that gathers baby supplies for local food banks. The organization was started in 2007 by Amanda Freeman, a former UVU student, to help meet the need for baby food, diapers, and other baby supplies for the homeless and others who draw from the food banks.

When food-bank drives are conducted, people generously donate items such as canned beans and boxed cereal but don’t often don’t think about baby supplies, leaving the banks often unable to help families with food, diapers, and other things for their babies. To meet this need, the UCBCC conducts a drive the second Saturday of each May and September to gather baby supplies. Typically, these drives are held in large supermarkets that have given permission to UCBCC to set up a table near the front of the store and as customers come in, invite them to purchase a baby item or two while they are shopping to donate to the food bank or to contribute money. As the customers leave, they drop off the purchased items at the donation table.
Because the UCBCC has no storage facilities, the donated items are taken directly to the Community Action Services and Food Bank on the day of the drive.
This organization serves families living in Utah, Wasatch, and Summit counties—so the donations go right back into the community.

Any baby item can be used, from baby food to baby wipes, but diapers and formula are especially needed. Any money donated in the drives is used in the store where the drive is held to purchase baby supplies for the food bank. In previous years, UCBCC has collected approximately $1,600 worth of baby supplies at each participating location. This year’s goal is to raise $2,000 at each location.
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The director of UCBCC is lining up locations to host this year’s drive and has asked you, a volunteer for the organization, to write a letter to the president of the Macey’s grocery-store chain along the Wasatch Front to persuade him to host a drive Saturday, May 8, 2010, at each of the Macey’s locations. In the letter, you will need to establish the credibility of your organization and the real need for the donated baby supplies—businesses get many requests to help with fundraisers and collections and can’t support them all. Also, some requests turn out to not be legitimate.

Use full-block letter format. Create a letterhead, and make up the Macey’s corporate address and company president’s name. The UCBCC’s contact information is the following: 4734 W. 12400 S., Payson, Utah, 84651; phone [phone]. If your letter goes on to a second page, be sure to use a header on page 2.