Best Buy refrigerator donation program could become a national model

The Cape Girardeau Best Buy store's policy that has helped bring in donations of nearly 50 refrigerators for Habitat for Humanity soon could become the norm companywide.

Mike Fontana, an associate of Best Buy in Paducah, Ky., and T. Robin Cole, local Habitat for Humanity chapter president, will present the idea to company officials in October.

"This effort helps the environment while assisting families in need of affordable used refrigerators," Cole said. "I have nothing but optimism that this will become a national undertaking by this company. In every dimension somebody wins."

The idea was born two years ago when Southeast Missourian publisher Jon Rust purchased a refrigerator from the Cape Girardeau Best Buy. Rust asked Fontana, then an employee at the Cape Girardeau store, if Best Buy could donate his old refrigerator to Habitat for Humanity rather than discarding the appliance in a landfill. Best Buy does not sell used appliances, forcing it to haul away older models consumers no longer want.

Fontana then contacted Cole, and shortly afterward Best Buy delivered the refrigerator to the ReStore at 117 N. Middle St. in Cape Girardeau. The two have been working ever since to make the effort successful in the community.

Though Fontana no longer works at the Cape Girardeau store, he has maintained contact with general manager Ramon Campos and employee and program liaison Liz Groceman to ensure its success. Since the program began in March, 47 refrigerators have been donated to the store.

ReStore manager Walt Wildman said refrigerators in good condition sell for between $150 and $175 while those in poorer condition sell for about $75. The profit made on the refrigerators is then used to buy materials for a Habitat for Humanity home.

"Most things in our store are two to five dollars, so when we receive donations for these higher-priced items it gives us a good boost," Wildman said. "Since we turn a 100 percent profit on all of our items sold in the store, it's like companies and individuals are helping us build a house."

Wildman said assistance from corporations such as Best Buy are essential to the success of Habitat for Humanity. Other companies assisting with efforts for the local Habitat for Humanity chapter include Buchheit, Hutson's Fine Furniture, Do It Best and Cape Electrical Supply.

Fontana said he's optimistic company executives will adopt his idea when he and Cole travel to Minneapolis.

"The Cape Best Buy is a small store compared to most in our company," Fontana said. "If we are sending eight units a month to the ReStore, simple math suggests that 8,000 units on average per month nationally is easily obtainable. Generating revenue and keeping the landfills less congested at this level will make a positive and substantial impact on local communities and the environment all across the country."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent address:

1318 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO