In 2016, Sundance Spas began partnering with Wish for Our Heroes to donate hot tubs to veterans. Spa Palace, a Colorado-based Jacuzzi/Sundance retailer, was already working with its Wish for Our Heroes local chapter, and the partnership was so successful that Sundance moved to make it a national program for all of its dealers.
“When you listen to these stories and see these people’s amazing courage, they really do touch your heart,” says Mike Wiege, president at Spa Palace.
“One of the main reasons we chose Wish for Our Heroes is that more than 95% of the donations go to the cause,” says James Choi, channel marketing manager at Sundance Spas, who oversees the program. The partnership falls under the company’s Good Cause Spas initiative. When a dealer sells 100 hot tubs, it is automatically qualified to give away a free hot tub through Wish for Our Heroes.
“There is an application process done through Wish for Our Heroes — once a dealer reaches or gets close to the 100 unit per store goal, we start looking for veterans for that dealer,” Choi says.
Sundance provides dealers with promotional material they can put in their store throughout the year. In 2017, the second year of the program, 16 hot tubs were donated. In 2018, 19 hot tubs were donated, and this year Sundance hopes to donate even more.
“It’s so important,” Choi says. “The reason we built this program is for the Sundance Spas brand to be connected with the community, build that brand and dealer connection in the local community and give back to people in need.”
Choi says they’re hoping to grow the program, and are even looking at donating some of the hot tubs to Veterans Administration facilities so more veterans will have access to warm-water therapy.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity to help veterans who have issues from their service to get back on their feet and live a normal life after they return from service,” Choi says. “It’s been working — helping out these veterans is important to us and helping out the community. When you see the veterans receive the spas and in tears, you can’t buy that.”