Two weeks ago, we celebrated something notable – the fifth anniversary of The Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI) – a charity supported from its birth by tech giants like Oracle, SAP, Epicor, Intel, and Tyco. The equally competitive technology analyst space has also rallied round the cause. Every technology analyst firm, from RSR to Gartner has been active from the beginning in supporting the initiative.

So what is this group that can bring together competitors and people with different religious, political and philosophical bents? And why should you care?

Retail ROI was the vision of the late Paul Singer (former Chief Information Officer for mega-retailers Target and SuperValu) and came to fruition under the leadership of Greg Buzek, President of research firm IHL Services. Its goal is straightforward: to raise awareness and help provide real solutions for orphaned and at-risk children around the globe.

Let’s take a look at what’s been accomplished, even as the organization is still in its relative infancy. We’re talking more than 69 projects in the U.S. and worldwide, with 93.7% of funds going directly to the work.

You may have bumped into Retail ROI in your travels. You might’ve even helped pack a meal if you’re a client or partner of Oracle, Epicor or SAP. Over the past five years these companies have combined to send over 1.3 million meals to famine / relief areas and orphans. They’ve done this by providing the food, while volunteers from across the retail industry pack the meals into boxes and prepare them to be sent on their way.

Volunteers also travel to other countries to support various activities. To date, accomplishments include building schools in Liberia, with a new school in Haiti currently under construction, building computer labs in Liberia, Honduras, Ethiopia, Zambia and the Dominican Republic (9 computer labs so far), funding clean water projects in Haiti, Liberia, Uganda, and Ethiopia, funding children’s homes in Cambodia, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Honduras.

Other activities in the US and around the world include helping expand Safe Families, a group that helps families in crisis and keeping children out of crisis from 12 to 65 cities in the United States, 3 in Canada as well as the U.K., helping 4KIDS (a group that seeks to find homes for children in crisis) grow projects from 4 to 32 states, with training and support for foster families, rescuing more than 350 girls from human trafficking in Nepal and India, and impacting nearly 2,900 adoptive families in the United States with funds and education.

Lest anyone think there is a religious tint to the charity, advisory board members come from diverse religious, political and social backgrounds, only united in their desire to make the world a better place for families and children at risk.

Why you should think about this now? RetailROI’s signature fundraising event is held every year in New York City, at the PwC auditorium in Manhattan. The event is held right before the National Retail Federation’s annual “Big Show. ” Please note there is no relationship between the NRF’s event and Retail ROI’s SuperSaturday. It is scheduled at that time for your convenience.

The program is designed to provide attendees with an in-depth look at the latest data and trends in the retail industry. Top analysts and C-level executives come together to converge on retail trends in marketing, technology, mobile and social media, with all proceeds from vendor sponsorships donated directly to RetailROI. It has been my great pleasure to be part of several of these events, including the very first.

The “influencer ” and tech community has been very active, but much of the retail community itself has been silent. A clear and notable exception is Build-a-Bear Workshops, who provide bears sold at every SuperSaturday event.

What’s next? The time is coming for retailers to raise the stakes. Initiatives are underway that might make it easier for retailers to support charities like RetailROI at their cash registers. But you know, making your voice heard will help make this a reality sooner rather than later. In my own view, this is an extension of “Conscious Capitalism ” – a group recognizing that the purpose of a corporation extends beyond “maximizing shareholder wealth ” to supporting its other stakeholders: employees and the communities that buy its goods and services.

Perhaps as you read this you might be inspired to ask your senior management: “Have you heard of RetailROI? And what are you doing to help? ” In the midst of our holiday ho-ho-ho’s, it’s always good to think about those more fortunate. Now’s your chance. A little bit of giving back just might be in order.