SPARE CHANGE ADDS UP
Stew Leonard's Wishing Well Benefits Local Charities

Customers may not realize that the spare penny or two they toss into the Wishing Well at the front of Stew Leonard's stores amounts to very much, but with over 250,000 customers entering the stores each week, it all adds up.

The Wishing Well is located in all three Stew Leonard's locations, and each store features a local charity that changes on a weekly or monthly basis. Customers (and their children) are invited to toss in their spare change as they exit the store.

"People always ask me how the Wishing Well first came about, but this was one idea that came directly from listening to our customers," said Stew Leonard, Jr.

When the Norwalk store first opened in 1969, customers began throwing their spare change into a pond located outside the store on "Stew's Little Farm." Stew Leonard, Sr. thought it would be a great idea to collect the money and donate it to local charities. The concept became so popular with customers that the Wishing Well was moved to the front of the store in the 1970s and then to its current location inside the store in the 1980s.

Each month, a different charity is featured on the Wishing Well. Over the last 33 years, contributions from customer's "spare change" have grown to hundred's of dollars each week. Last year Stew's donated more than $20,000. Some of the organizations that benefited from our customer's generosity include:

"My father championed the idea, but it all began with our customer's," said Stew Leonard, Jr. "It goes to show that if everyone contributes just a little, together, we can make a difference."