Stews Leonard's Gives Back To Norwalk Community With Wishing Well

NORWALK, CT — Immediately after Eileen Grisewood hands her young son a dime, he throws his arm back, leans over the basket of the shopping cart he is seated in and flings the coin into the wishing well at Stew Leonard's in Norwalk. He is quickly handed another coin, which is once again gleefully tossed into the clear blue fountain and quickly sinks down to a pile of pennies, quarters and other coins lining the bottom.

After seeing all the fun her son is having, Grisewood decides to toss one at the three small targets lining the back wall of the well. She counts aloud to her son as she tosses the coin and hits the top target, which causes an animatronic parrot perched above the well to suddenly come alive.

"Thanks for your donation," the robotic bird squawks.

According to Grisewood, she and her son will toss a few coins into the well every time they visit the store. (To sign up for Norwalk breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"He loves it. We do it every week, sometimes twice a week," Grisewood said. "I always try to hit that top target and I never get it, but I hit it today! It was very exciting."

The sight of a child, or even an adult, tossing coins into the well is something customers often encounter. According to the store's Director of Public Relations, Meghan Bell, she and her children will always stop and throw a few coins in the well on their way out of the store, as most families with coins on them do.

"Even before I had kids, if I paid with cash at Stews I would always throw my change in the wishing well," Bell said. "If I’m shopping there without my kids and I have some change in my pocket, I’ll usually leave some on the edge of the wishing well because I know kids love doing it. I think it’s something children especially look forward to when they come to the store."

What many children may not realize as they toss their parent's loose change into the wishing well is that all the money they throw is donated to charity. In fact, the store makes a point to feature a different charity every one-two months, which receives all the money tossed into the well in that time frame.

"Stew Leonard’s is a family-owned business," Bell said. "The Leonard family lives in this area. Stew Leonard Jr. was born in Norwalk Hospital and has always lived within five miles of it his entire life, so they’re really deeply rooted in the community and it’s a great way to give back to local charities. It’s fun, and it’s in keeping with the store's ethos of being a fun place to shop."

That ethos and devotion to the local community is not restricted to Norwalk. The "World's Largest Dairy Store" also has Connecticut store locations in Danbury and Newington, as well as New York locations in Yonkers, Famingdale and East Meadow. All five stores have their own wishing wells, each of which goes toward local charities in their respective communities.

"We didn’t really know anybody when we first opened up in Long Island, but we started talking to our new team members and told them we had this great program and wanted to invite local charities to apply," Bell said. "I think it’s just another testament to the Leonard family, making wishing wells a part of all six of our stores. It’s a great way for us to meet more people in the community."

Any organization who wishes to apply to be part of the wishing well schedule can apply on the Stew's Cares section of the store's website. According to Bell, the wishing well books up pretty far in advance, so there is usually a six month waiting period at minimum.

The idea for the wishing well actually came from Stew Leonard's initiative to make the store a really fun and interactive place to shop, taking cues from both Las Vegas and Walt Disney World. That influence can be seen throughout the Norwalk store, where animatronic milk cartons sing original songs about shopping at the store and the customer always being right, a slogan that is literally etched into a giant slab of stone at the store's entrance.

"It's all about making the store fun and making it a destination," Bell said, "which is sort of what we’ve been doing since the beginning."

The well is one of many charity initiatives Stew Leonard's engages in.

"One thing we do that a lot of people don’t know about is we work with local charities and local food banks to donate all of our day-old baked goods," Bell said. "So if you drive by the store at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., you’ll see a few vans lined up from local organizations collecting food to bring back to shelters and food pantries."

Families may not immediately think of the bigger impact their money has when they toss it into the wishing well, however Stew Leonard's is satisfied knowing it's something customers and their children enjoy doing that can also make a difference in the area.

"I think it's something that everybody of every age enjoys doing, trying to the hit the target and make the parrot squawk," Bell said, "and then it’s nice to know that money is going toward helping people within the local community."