28 My Give with Target Experience

This past week I was invited to take a little organizing break and ultimately witness a celebration like none other....

Imagine, a town with a population of around 3,000 people winning a nationwide competition, which included cities over twenty times their size.  Yeah.  That happened!

Earlier this year I was asked to be part of the Target Inner Circle, and it was a partnership that instantly made sense to me.  I have shopped at Target for as long as I remember, and you all know I can't resist the temptation they throw at me as they constantly release new fabulous items from small town boutiques and famous designers.  Yes, my hubby chains my wallet to the inside of the car and gives me a cash budget when shopping at Target.  Can you blame him?

What I also heart about Target is their involvement around the community, which I was able to see first hand his week.

Tuesday afternoon, my hubby and I hopped into the car for a three hour drive to Benson, MN.  Yes, we drove far, far away from civilization.  OK, so I kid a bit.  But it is so similar to our own small town which is lined with farms, corn fields and small-town pride.  It felt like a home away from home.

This town was the center of our attention that day, because they did something a bit extraordinary.  They pulled together, they called everyone they knew, they used social media, they rallied at sporting and community events and they won.

Target is setting out to give an insane amount of funding to education {more on that here}, and with that, they challenged schools across the country to vote.  The votes would translate into dollars, and the first school to hit 10,000 votes would win the entire competition with a celebration.

Knowing that, can you believe that a town of only 3,164, could pull together enough support and votes to win the entire competition?  I think that is what sent chills through my entire body that night.  Seeing a community so close-knit and overcoming the odds, and winning something so tremendous brought this small town gal to tears.

A few pretty special celebs also stopped in to tell the town congratulations.  And then they stuck around for awhile to get their celebration on!

After a day long celebration with the students, which included games and a famous DJ, they ended the evening with a concert on the football field, which was rocked by the talented Luke Bryan.  Honestly, I had no clue who Luke Bryan was prior to heading that way, but I left there the biggest country music fan ever after listening to him and seeing his pretty smile.  Sigh...

It was an honor to be invited to share in this special moment in history for the small town with big hearts.  This event will forever be remembered by the students and staff in Benson, and they should be endlessly proud for being an inspirational underdog story and showing the importance of togetherness. 

I was not paid for this post, just offered to put on my celebration pants and hang out with the fine folks of Target and Benson, MN!  Truly an experience I will never forget!