A Charitable Twist on Buy One Get One Free

Just when it seems the true spirit of the holidays has been cashed in for the chaos of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a Seattle-based company’s new relief campaign reminds us that corporate consciousness and consumer giving is still alive and well.

Insect Shield, a company known for its bug repellent apparel/gear technology, has given BOGO a whole new meaning with its newly launched holiday Super Hero Blanket campaign to help protect at-risk children from malaria. Instead of the traditional buy one get one free offer, the company offers a buy one, give two: placing two Super Hero protective blankets in the hands of a child in need for every purchase of one $34.95 blanket online.

The protective blankets offer built-in protection against mosquitoes, ticks and other dangerous insects that can carry diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and Lyme. Distribution is being conducted by Insect Shields partner, Medical Teams International, a global health organization that sends more than 200 volunteer teams each year to provide disaster relief and surgeries for impoverished people worldwide. In just the first few days of the campaign, Insect Shield sent out more than 200 blankets to malaria-risk regions of Africa, said company spokeswoman Janine Robertson.

Insect Shields holiday campaign is an innovative way to give busy consumers a charitable bang for their holiday bucks and helps them feel good about shopping by also doing something for those in need. It falls nicely in line with other local companies, including Boeing, Costco, Starbucks, REI and Microsoft that are sponsoring local food drives, clothing donations, matching funds and other charitable acts of kindness during the holidays.

While consumers are expected to spend a whopping $600 billion this holiday season, the numbers of those giving back is also rising. According to Charity Navigator, more than a quarter (25.4 percent) of adults in the United States volunteered with an organization in 2013, contributing an estimated 8.1 billion hours. That represents about $163.0 billion worth of work.

Nice to see the spirit of Giving Tuesday lasting longer than a day and catching up to its Black Friday and Cyber Monday competitors.