Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

File this under ‘things I thought everyone knew’

One reason I tend to buy gift cards from Giant Eagle or Target (or Amazon sometimes) is that the recipient can use the card to buy a gift card.

Do I know what video game your kids plays that requires a ‘refill’ gift card? No, I do not. So a Giant Eagle gift card can be redeemed by the kiddo for whatever RoboXBox thing they want.

Do I know your preferred restaurant for the $50 meal? No, I do not. Nothing sucks as much as a $50 gift card to a place you don’t really like to eat. So a Giant Eagle gift card to the rescue. I’ll never know if you prefer Applebees to Country Kitchen. And I don’t have to know that.

Same goes for retail outlets, sporting good stores, movie theaters, etc.

I thought everyone knew this. I’ve known it so long I can’t remember not knowing it. So I was shocked recently when someone who worked with me on a gift card drive questioned why we were giving teens Giant Eagle cards. And I realized no one had passed this information along to the kids. OMG.

These kids think we gave them groceries as a holiday gift.

I can’t undo that. I will make sure any future gift project includes an explanatory note.

Another benefit is that donors love getting points for buying Giant Eagle gift cards. So they tend to spend a little more.

The more you know.