Small Pennsylvania Town Pays-It-Forward at Holiday Party
— -- A small Pennsylvania town paid-it-forward to each other this holiday season, with a little help from an online coupon website RetailMeNot.
Coupon, Penn. is a small town of around 75 people. According to resident Beth Bem, who was born and raised in Coupon, the community is very tight knit, and most of the residents come from generations of families who grew up in the town together.
RetailMeNot spokesperson Sara Skirboll told ABC News that representatives of the online coupon company traveled to the town to meet the residents of Coupon, and to promote their "Save It Forward" campaign.
"When we heard there was this tiny town [called Coupon], we were curious and had to check it out," Skirboll said.
Skirboll and a few other RetailMeNot representatives went door-to-door to meet with multiple families from the town and to ask the residents what gifts they would like to receive for the holidays.
RetailMeNot's original plan was to gift each person they spoke with in Coupon something from their holiday wish list, but the coupon company quickly discovered a trend among the residents of the small town. The townspeople did not want gifts for themselves; rather, they wanted to help out their family, friends and neighbors.
According to Skirboll, all of the residents that she spoke with said they had the "love of family and friends, and that’s all they needed," and instead offered ideas for gifts for other members of the community.
"They came back to us and said we know neighbors who need things that would make their Christmas a little better, or make their lives a little easier," Skirboll said.
Impressed by the selflessness of this small town, RetailMeNot set out to throw a holiday party for the tight knit community, and surprised the residents with the gifts that their neighbors suggested for each other.
The holiday party was held this past Sunday at the home of longtime residents Ed and Karen Gailey. RetailMeNot decorated the Gailey's house and transformed it into a winter wonderland.
Both Ed Gailey and Bem told ABC News that the holiday party served as a reunion for their community. The local church where many residents of Coupon used to congregate burned down in 2009, and the town hadn't had a large gathering since then.
"[The Christmas party] brought everybody back together," Ed said. "Everyone was so happy just to see each other and catch up."
At the party, the Coupon community, as well as friends and families of the residents enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies, and Santa himself even made an appearance, coming down from the roof to pass out over 50 gifts for the men, women and children of Coupon.
Neighbors received gifts ranging from gift-cards, to a refrigerator, to a mountain bike, and one deserving family was gifted a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
"It was really nice and really great," Bem said of the holiday party and gift-exchange. "We are all so grateful to RetailMeNot for doing all of this for us."
Skirboll noted that for her, the most moving aspect of the night was seeing the community come together to celebrate goodwill and cheer. She explained that for the residents of Coupon, the gift-exchange was not the highlight of the night at all. The real excitement for this small community was the fact that they were able to surround themselves with friends and family as they celebrated the season of giving.
"Of course the gifts were wonderful, but really at the end of the day we helped bring this community back together, said Skirboll."
