Retail Orphan Initiative Raises Over $384,000 to Help Orphans and Vulnerable Children in SuperSaturday Event

Over 220 Executives Meet to Network, Learn and Help Children in Need

NASHVILLE – January 24, 2023 – Over 220 retail executives recently met at Microsoft’s New York headquarters for a day of top retail business content and networking for a greater cause - helping orphans and foster children. The SuperSaturday event from The Retail Orphan Initiative combines charities, retail executives and technology executives together in an event often called “Tech and Tears” for the purpose of raising funds and creating real solutions to help the most vulnerable in our society – orphans and children in the foster system.

The event led off with Sharon Leite, CEO of Ideal Image, to discuss her experience from “Undercover Boss” while CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe. The day included a series of other retail speakers as well as charity sessions. It was highlighted by networking tables for retailers and interactions with 15 different charities working in the area of adoption, foster care and orphan care.?

“We are humbled by the spirit and the support of the retail community,” said Greg Buzek, President of the Retail Orphan Initiative. “To see all of these executives giving up a day with their own families to help children they may never meet is truly inspiring. The combined annual revenues of the companies represented surpassed over $2.48 Trillion USD, an amount greater than the total GDP of Italy. Together we can make a HUGE difference to help children in need.”

The day marked the 14th SuperSaturday event. Since inception, the proceeds of the event have helped over 311,000 children in 28 countries, funding projects ranging from clean water to building/remodeling schools as well as computer labs. In total, over $4.2 Million USD in grants to worthy charities have been awarded from the proceeds of SuperSaturday in the first 13 years.

The event was made possible thanks to the following sponsors:

Host Sponsor – Microsoft

Red Carpet/Platinum Sponsor – Avanade

Foundation Level Sponsors – IBM Consulting, KPMG and T-Mobile for Business

Executive Sponsors – Aptos, Amperity, The Parker Avery Group, Tecsys, Verizon for Business, and VMware

Gold Level Sponsors – MacLaren Group and C-Core Consulting Group

Silver Level Sponsors – Toshiba Global Commerce, Amazon Web Services, XCCommerce, Fortinet, IHL Group, and Digi

A recap video of the event and more information can be found at https://www.retailroi.org/supersaturday

About Retail Orphan Initiative

Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) is a grassroots charitable organization made up of people in the retail industry to use our skillsets, networks, and funding to help the over 400 million orphaned and vulnerable children. More information and how to get involved can be found at www.retailroi.org