He Started a Charity While on Vacation in Costa Rica

Most people don’t start charitable movements when they’re on vacation. J Brad Britton is not “most people.”

J Brad has been with Vector Marketing for nearly 30 years and is currently a Division Manager in Fallbrook, California.

When he took a trip to Costa Rica with fellow Vector managers in March 2017, he felt compelled to team with CEPIA, a non-profit organization in Costa Rica determined to improve the quality of life for individuals from poor backgrounds in the country.

And on that day, CUTCO Cares World Impact (CCWI) was born.

“I believe the job of being a manager in Vector is, in and of itself, a ‘charitable event.’” There are thousands of great causes in the world that benefit [others], but what Vector managers do every day is for the benefit of ‘the average Joe or Jane,” J Brad says.

In fact, it’s those “average Joes and Janes” that inspired him to give back while vacationing in Costa Rica. “What we do at Vector is teach life skills, thinking skills, sales skills, and success skills to a large number of youth. These ‘everyday-people’ that go through the Vector program are the ones that become able and willing to donate their time, money, and resources to thousands of great causes.”

J Brad insists that gratitude is one of his four core life philosophies. “When we invest our time, meeting and helping other people, especially people in poverty or otherwise considered ‘less fortunate’ than ourselves, it helps us to remember more of our own blessings and increases our gratitude.” And as a side benefit? There’s the good will that comes to the business. “Planning, staging, and documenting a charitable event while on a company vacation helps enlighten people who do not know much about Vector and the good work we do. Business owners who give create community within their own organization/company. It’s like a team-building exercise of the heart. Running a tight-fisted, stingy operation is a human repellent and creates an atmosphere of want instead of prosperity.”

Of course, something worth doing shouldn’t be done alone. “Vector is a fun place to be. I was fairly confident that the Vector people who participated with us in Costa Rica would genuinely enjoy the experience, and [we will] do more of this kind of thing [in our future travels].”

With 60 people participating, CCWI’s inaugural day was a success. The managers raised about $5,500, gave $1,000 worth of CUTCO, and donated nearly $500 worth of school supplies, toys, and clothes to the facility totaling about $7,000.

Even though it’s not always convenient, J Brad encourages others to give and to give without expectation of anything in return. “For busy people, it’s never really convenient. Or maybe we could say that there is so much need around us everyday that it’s always convenient.”

Sounds like a vacation well spent.