Heather sent a message to Marvin R. Ellison – President of J. C. Penney Company Inc.- email address that said:
Dear Marvin or Whomever This Message May Concern,
I hope this finds you well. I could only imagine how many emails you sift through throughout your days but I would like to address my only concern about the J.C. Penney Company. My mom who is now a General Manager of a store in upstate New York has dedicated nearly 15 years of her early adult life at this company. She started as just a J.C. Penney associate in her mid 20's and was soon promoted to a Visual Manager shortly after. She has always spoken highly of the J.C. Penney brand and success. This company has provided for our family and we have always been understanding of her long hours as well as commitments to work on holidays. My brother and I have both had our fair share of working in the retail world and understand the demands, however, Corporate America has begun to take people away from their families and into their stores to make a few extra dollars to beat the Black Friday rush. In the last few years many Corporations have taken a stand to close their doors on Thanksgiving and suffer the sale losses and I am hoping that J.C. Penney can soon take this same stance. Our family as well as many others have had to suffer giving up Thanksgiving with our families who work in retail. My entire family have not spent Thanksgiving with my mom for several years due to her being in the retail industry. We actually do not celebrate on this day due to the guilt we feel because she is working so hard. It breaks our heart as well as hers to know we cannot spend this day together like so many other families are. I can only wish that as J.C. Penney has always been a family based company the CEO, Marvin Ellison who also claims to be a family man can empathize with the thousands of families who have to suffer because their mom, aunt, sister or grandmother have dedicated their career to this company. I'm sure you have had many requests to shut your doors on this day and I can only reiterate how much this is tearing families apart. I hope this one little message can begin a ripple effect to make a difference. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know I am only one person in many that feel this very way but I hope it gives you perspective to stand up and make a difference. Thank you kindly -Heather
