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CBL TEAMS WITH SALVATION ARMY TO CLOTHE KIDS

Poor children got new back-to-school clothes this year, thanks to a campaign CBL & Associates Properties conducted at nearly all of its 67 malls in July.

The Clothes for Kids campaign, during which shoppers bought and donated apparel for needy local children, ran for 16 days from July 16.

“[CBL Chairman] Charles Lebovitz and CBL believe strongly that our malls should develop programs that help our communities grow,” said Barbara Ivankovich, SCMD, vice president of corporate relations and mall marketing for CBL.

The firm, which already sponsors a portfoliowide evening of fund raising for local charities during the holidays called a Night of Giving, had been searching for another such campaign to hold at another time of year.

The Salvation Army and The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. signed on as partners for Clothes for Kids, while Randy Jackson, a judge on TV’s American Idol, agreed to be celebrity spokesman.

“We picked Randy because of his desire to make a difference in the lives of kids,” Ivankovich said.

CBL chose to hold the kick-off event at its Arbor Place, near Atlanta, because of that mall’s proximity to both Coca-Cola’s headquarters there and its own in Chattanooga, Tenn.

About 90 percent of CBL’s malls participated; the others had no Salvation Army branches in their markets, Ivankovich says.

The Salvation Army supplied lists with children’s names, needs and clothing sizes. Shoppers would take one information tag per child, buy clothing at the mall and bring their donations back to the display location. (The program also accepted cash donations.) Salvation Army representatives oversaw distribution of the gifts.

To encourage donors, American Eagle, Sears and other retailers offered discounts on program-related purchases. CBL’s advertising agency, Atlanta-based Huey/Paprocki, produced creative materials on a pro bono basis.

CBL never set any dollar goal for donations, saying only that it hoped to help “thousands” of children.

If traffic at CBL’s centers increases, that’s just a bonus, says Ivankovich.

“We didn’t even talk about that,” she said. “We just feel so strongly about helping.”