A Year of Impact: 2022

Here at Nugget HQ, we're blown away every day by kids' creativity, imagination, and unbridled enthusiasm for the future. We know they’re going places, and we can’t wait to watch this next generation thrive.

And because we’re so excited about their future, we as a company want to improve the world our kids are growing into. Our impact today is important, but our impact tomorrow is critical.

This means we are constantly looking for ways to bring greater authenticity and more equitable ideas directly into our communities. We strive to inspire playfulness and creativity in kids — but at our core, we also want to show up for our neighbors.

Here’s how we showed up in 2022 — for our customers, our employees, our own literal community, and beyond.

We treated our employees with dignity and respect. Our entire Nugget team works so hard to give our customers the best experience and products possible. We prioritize thanking them for that work! In addition to offering every full-time employee benefits, paid time off, and at least $20 an hour, we expanded our team of Nuggeteers by 30%, creating new jobs in both North Carolina and our new satellite location, Atlanta, GA. Nugget HQ in Butner, NC got some upgrades, including standing desks, better break room offerings, and bold, colorful murals on the walls. We also prioritized installing a Mamava pod to ensure breastfeeding parents have a private, hygienic, and comfortable space to pump.

We invested in places where children can let loose and play. ImagiFAB is a STEAM-focused exhibit that opened in 2021 at Marbles, a Raleigh-based children’s museum. Nugget gave $80,000 to the exhibit this year, after an initial donation of $100,000 last year. We are proud to be the exhibit’s title sponsor, and we highly recommend you check it out with your own kids.

We supported public schools and public school teachers. We donated 94 nearly perfect Nuggets during the 2021-2022 school year as part of our The More You Nugget initiative. This program allows anyone to nominate K-5 public school teachers to get a Nugget for their classrooms — an awesome resource to encourage reading, play, and imagination at school. Thank you to Novel Effect and A Kids Company About for helping our ongoing efforts to support these heroes in U.S. communities with Nuggets and other resources and supplies.

We supported non-profits financially through our philanthropic Cover Club program. Nugget uses this initiative to raise money by raffling off chances to win prizes, including (coveted!) retired Nugget cover sets. This year, we raised $147,730 for two partner organizations: Gigi’s Playhouse in Raleigh, and the Campaign for Southern Equality.

• Gigi’s Playhouse supports individuals of all ages with Down syndrome. Our friends there used this donation for their new facility opening in December 2022. The space is incredible! It features four learning labs for one-on-one tutoring sessions in speech, literacy, and math, as well as a sensory room, gym, kitchen, laundry facilities, classrooms, and space for events and large groups. This donation will help Gigi’s serve and impact more families with a loved one with Down syndrome.
• The Campaign for Southern Equality works tirelessly to promote full LGBTQIA+ equality — both legal and lived — across the South. They serve thousands of people, offering micro-grants to LGBTQIA+ organizers, fighting legal battles to protect LGBTQIA+ individuals, and training healthcare providers in trans-affirming care practices. 

We took our role as an ally seriously by launching our Y’all Means All campaign in June. We made it our mission to shine a light on what we can all do to create a more inclusive society where everyone can live as themselves — thriving, accepted, and supported. In that spirit, we rolled out special-edition Big Orange Boxes declaring our support for LGBTQIA+ individuals. We also partnered with the Campaign for Southern Equality as part of our Cover Club, and in our own backyard, we supported Youth Zones at the Durham Pride Parade and the OUT! Raleigh Pride Event. We support and affirm all our community members striving for equity and inclusion in the NC Triangle.

We helped support our neighbors directly. This Giving Tuesday, we donated $60,000 from our Build Something Color-full sale to Durham Neighbors, an initiative that offers local residents direct economic relief for basic necessities like food, rent, utility bills, diapers, medical care, and more. The key word here is direct. Durham Neighbors gives 100% of donated funds directly to someone experiencing need. Durham Neighbors believes *person-to-person* giving is the most effective kind of assistance. If you’re interested in donating money, time, or resources, visit durhamneighbors.com. 

We want to thank you for being a part of our efforts to show up for our community. We encourage you to give — however you can — to a cause in your own hometown. And if Giving Tuesday isn’t the right time, there are 364 other days in the year to donate, volunteer, and promote causes you care about. We're grateful to be doing this work with you for the next generation.