by Ryland Hilbert
I’ve spent my entire career in retail, so I guess you could say it’s been a life-long passion. From a very young age I’ve always had a great love of working with the complexity and creativity of a brick and mortar store. And even as the industry has evolved to include e-commerce, I still believe that the thrill of discovery, the opportunity to create experiences and role stores play as hubs in our local communities in some respect make them more relevant than ever.
Give back to the community we love
As you may have guessed I also have a deep love for our village of Sag Harbor. My grandfather and great-grandfather both grew up here, so I am a true “local”, many generations over! So, when we conceptualized the idea of Ryland Life Equipment my partner, Brad Jakeman and I wanted to take a step back and reflect on the things that were important to us. One of those things was to give back to the community we love. We wanted to be an exciting, curated and dynamic destination that was here year-round to bring vibrancy to the East End rather than just pop up to serve the summer crowd. That’s why we have kept our doors open every single day with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
While this is a particularly hard time as we manage through the health crisis and the mandatory State shut down order, it has given us time to reflect back on the values from which we started Ryland Life Equipment. Now more than ever we are committed to doing what we can to continue to support the brands we work with, our amazing team and the people in need within our community.
Giving back for us is taking many forms, the latest of which is to support an organization we have gotten to know well recently called The Retreat in East Hampton. Being forced to spend so much time in our homes is hard, but it can be dangerous for those families suffering from domestic violence. The Retreat is there to support the families affected by providing counseling, resources and a safe place to live.
So, for the weekend of May 1st, 2nd and 3rd we will donate 50% of all proceeds from www.rylandlife.com to The Retreat. I hope that you will consider joining us to help.