Mister Softee Partners with Food Share Ventura

In the very early stages of planning the business, maybe even before we settled on exactly what business we were going to start, we knew that ‘Giving Back’ would be something we made part of the business plan and budget. We have always been inspired by companies like Tom’s Shoes, Warby Parker, Panera Bread, and The Company Store, who make giving back all the time a tenant of their business. We hold a strong belief that as a business you have some responsibility to put something back into the community that essentially supports you. We also think it’s good karma, and that never hurts when you are starting a new business. So, how do you give back when you are driving an Ice Cream Truck? One way is through fundraisers. Organizations can have us at their location or event, and we will donate a portion of our sales made at the event right back to the organization. It’s simple and effective. But, we wanted to do more, so we decided to partner with Food Share of Ventura County and will be donating 1% of our annual profit to them. We are also hoping to become a resource for them at other events and food drives they are part of to help increase donations and awareness which in turn helps feed people that otherwise may go hungry.

A partnership of this nature is not out of the ordinary, or a new idea for the Hiller family. I have a history during my professional career of helping serve the communities that I am part of and it dates back to 2007 when I held a Food Drive in Texas/Oklahoma based out of the Guitar Center retail stores I managed as a District Manager. This was the first time anyone in the company had held such an event.
Click HERE to view the 2008 drive, and the prior year.

In 2009, after moving into a VP position at Guitar Center corporate, I took the Food Drive nationwide, and to this day, local stores and districts continue to hold similar events on their own. While working at Guitar Center, I was able to spearhead and partner with numerous organizations like Little Kids Rock, and Music Cares to raise funds through retail point of sale donations and other methods. I also led the charge on numerous efforts to collect money for the American Red Cross and other organizations that provided relief for areas struck by tragedy or natural disasters.

Mister Softee of Southern California has already made an initial donation of $500 to Food Share of Ventura County, and we look forward to much, much more in the future as well as all of the other fundraisers and random acts of kindness we can be part of. Once we get things going, we will update everyone via website, Facebook, this blog, etc. how much we are actually giving back to the community.

You can call us at 805-388-CONE if you are interested in having us out to your next party, event, fundraiser, or workplace. By hiring us, you too will be giving something back and helping us increase our annual donation to Food Share.