Lendio Employees Give Christmas to 3 Families

Lendio employees pool together money to help three families have what they need to celebrate Christmas

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — Lendio’s mission is to help small businesses get the capital they need. This holiday season, Lendio employees have expanded that to help three desperate families in the Salt Lake City area.

“We really wanted to help out the community this Christmas. With so many people struggling in this economy, we decided to bring it down to a real personal level,” said Brock Blake, Lendio CEO. “We found three families that have had a really hard year, and hope to give them a great Christmas.”

Each Lendio employee pledged a certain amount of their personal money to help these families.

“I think we’re all excited to give something personal to these families,” said Diana Rees, director of accounting and human resources, who organized this project for Lendio. “Christmas is about giving, and this has become really great way for each of us to do that.”

“I think this helps each of our employees get into that Christmas spirit, and at the same time, brings our team together and enhances the culture of our company,” Blake said. “But most importantly, we’re excited to help a few families that need it.”

The families include:

• A single mother of two girls under 8 years old. The family was just kicked out of their apartment.
• A family of seven. The parents are both unemployed because of health reasons. The mother is currently pregnant and also needs brain surgery. The father is recovering from colitis and is looking for a job.
• A single mother with Chrone’s Disease who also has a mass on her kidney, which has rendered her disabled.

Lendio found those families through the organization, The Living Christmas, which connects “families with a little extra with families in need.” To do your own Sub-For-Santa, call Jayson Orvis at The Living Christmas at 801-652-1801.

Orvis gave Lendio three steps in helping families in need. They are:

1. Give them a call and talk about what their specific needs are. Make sure you cover clothing and shoe sizes. If you can, you go beyond their needs and start talking about what their kids might enjoy. Talk about how the parent’s would like to arrange delivery. Some like the kids to know who “Santa” is and others like to keep it a secret from the kids. Generally, I suggest that the parents do the gift wrapping.

2. Then, you shop for them, usually including wrapping paper and tape. WalMart is often a one-stop shopping experience. It’s incredibly cheap and you can do almost everything there. Get a gift receipt so they can take stuff back, but keep the main receipt so you can get a tax write off. Gift cards at Smiths are also excellent if the family is in need of food. WalMart gift cards are appreciated as well.

3. Set a day to do your delivery. We usually do it long before Christmas. Give them the gift receipt when you deliver.

About Lendio
Lendio makes business loans simple by matching qualified small business owners with active banks, credit unions, and other lending sources. Through a proprietary matching technology, Lendio helps business owners identify the type of business loan and specific lenders that offer the highest probability for that business owner to prepare for and secure a business loan approval. Lendio is a free service for business owners. Lendio is venture-backed by Highway 12 Ventures and Tribeca Venture Partners. For more information, contact Lendio at press(at)lendio(dot)com.