Verve donates to Ill. nonprofit

PROVIDENCE – Verve Inc. recently donated 54,000 bubblegum-filled, all-natural lollipops, called Glee Gum Pops, to NAEIR, an Illinois nonprofit.
NAEIR, the National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources, of Galesburg, Ill., will turn over the pops to schools, churches and other nonprofits, an effort NAEIR President and CEO Gary C. Smith calls “product philanthropy.”
NAEIR’s specialty is receiving donations of excess inventory from U.S. corporations, then redistributing them to member schools, churches, and charities. The corporations receive a tax deduction equal to up to twice the products’ cost. The nonprofits pay only shipping and handling, plus a modest membership fee.
For the donor, Verve, Inc., it puts excess inventory to good use, without discounting or liquidating valuable product, said Molly Lederer, Verve’s director of communications and marketing.
“We donated to NAEIR in the past and had a great experience,” said Lederer. “So, when we found ourselves with a surplus of Glee Gum Pops and a shortage of warehouse space, we knew just whom to turn to.”
Verve’s President, Deborah Schimberg, a social entrepreneur, founded the company after a visit to the Guatemalan rain forest, where chicle, a type of tree sap and the main component in the gum, is found.
“We love knowing that our products will be used by nonprofits, schools, and churches. It makes us feel good!” says Lederer. “And it introduces our company to so many different charitable organizations with whom we’re happy to connect.”

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