As a company, Macy's Inc. believes in giving back to our local communities. Our contributions, leadership and volunteer efforts help create stronger, healthier places to work and live.
Collectively, contributions from Macy's, Bloomingdale's, the Macy's Foundation and the Bloomingdale's Fund of the Macy's Foundation - as well as employee contributions through workplace giving campaigns and customer contributions through our signature giving programs - totaled more than $71.2 million in 2009.
Across the company, our support helped sponsor important exhibits at museums, formed partnerships with symphonies, theaters and zoos to create educational and fun "family days," provided scholarships and mentoring for disadvantaged youth, raised funds for the fight against breast cancer, supported women's shelters, and rallied behind the HIV/AIDS cause with funding for testing, food banks and other support services.
The 2009 holiday season ushered in the second Believe campaign, which generated a $1 million contribution from Macy's to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Inspired by the famous editorial in the New York Sun newspaper in 1897, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," customers were invited to join Macy's in believing in the magic of the season by posting letters to Santa in special letterboxes in each store. Macy's pledged to donate $1 to Make-A-Wish for every letter received, up to maximum of 1 million letters.