Blog

Summertime is here at last, and there is great hope for some easy living, a chance to get outside and enjoy the world around us. Well, at least that is our hope during this ongoing challenge surrounding the world-wide pandemic.

As many places slowly open up, there are lots of great ideas on what we can do to be outside together or alone. Many activities can be enjoyed under social distancing guidelines where you live, work or play. So, we thought it might be fun to share some tried and true ideas, as well as some new things that you, your families and even your employee teams can do together.

As our nation continues to recover from the pandemic, we are reminded just how important family is in our homes and in our communities where struggles continue with stay-safe orders, social distancing requirements, quarantines and ongoing health risks.

Clearly those on the frontlines keeping us safe are true heroes, but heroics also happens in our homes where parents and children have had to face new challenges around home schooling, job loss, shortages of basic supplies and more.

Findings from its 2019 national gift card distribution results have been finalized and released by NGC, one of North America's largest card and prepaid technology companies responsible for annually activating over $600 million in gift cards and prepaid products for loyalty, rewards, and employee recognition programs.

Trends from the annual distribution results show that big box retailers, open loop cards (such as Visa and American Express), and entertainment brands (such as Apple and Google Play) continue to be the most popular gift card and reward choices.

In an effort to help companies using gift cards to support and thank employees and frontline workers during the COVID-19 crisis, NGC has expanded its capabilities to include greeting cards.

With its new service, NGC will be able to print custom messages on privately branded greeting cards using its proprietary print and fulfillment technology platform. This capability makes NGC one of North America's only gift card providers who supports automated, quality-focused gift card fulfillment with a greeting card style delivery.

Challenging times call for creativity, hard work and a focus on what is important.

Over these past weeks our country has faced a crisis unlike anything we have ever seen before. This crisis impacts all levels of our society, from the health community to many small (and large) businesses struggling through unheard of economic impact.