Community Counts – a Member Celebration in Lumberton, NJ!
In mid-May of 2007 about 35 employees from eBay and PayPal offices in San Jose, Salt Lake City, Omaha, and Vancouver traveled to Lumberton, NJ to throw a celebration – eBay style!
Many of you may remember eBay's Community Counts contest from last November. For three weeks, we tracked all the bidding/buying, selling, Community, and eBay Giving Works activity of every US registered eBay member. The objective was to identify, on a per capita basis, the top ten most-active eBay communities (defined as registered Zip Codes) in the United States. Additional points were added for any buying and selling that included eBay's Giving Works. The top 10 communities also got to nominate local nonprofits for cash grants from eBay.
At the end of November, Lumberton, New Jersey (in 08048) was declared the winner. Lumberton is a small town of just over 10,000 people, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia. It's a quintessentially small American town, with a history going back to the 17th century. Members of the eBay community in Lumberton chose the Burlington County Animal Alliance, a volunteer organization that rescues pets and helps find loving families to adopt them, to receive a $10,000 donation from eBay, Inc. on their behalf.
Smart card to the city
Over 300 Lumberton residents and their families came out to the Lumberton Village Green (a local park) to enjoy barbecue, listen to great music provided by their local high school jazz band, and hear Gary Briggs, eBay's Chief Marketing Officer, offer thanks and congratulations to the town. In turn, Lumberton Mayor Pat Delany awarded Gary with what was probably Lumberton 's very first “Smart Card” to the city. The Mayor joked that awarding the traditional “Key to the City” was too “bricks and mortar, and not hip enough for eBay.”
Staff and members meet
The event was more than just a celebration. It was also an opportunity for staff to meet members in person and listen to what was on their minds. Information tents were set up with staff from various departments like Customer Support, PayPal, and Trust & Safety to talk with and answer any questions from the Lumberton members. An air of festive excitement prevailed on the Village Green. All the employees from eBay and PayPal were excited to celebrate with the Lumberton residents, and buzz of an annual Community Counts contest began to circulate.
The event even received coverage in the local media, and included excited reactions from participants. Community member, Lee Yeash states, “For little old housewife me, this is a big deal and I’m thrilled to be here and for Lumberton to be recognized”.
