Local Business Gives Back

REDLANDS >>Nekter Juice Bar is offering guests a way to give back to the community. Nekter is the first small business in the community to take part in Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital’s Give Now Build Hope public giving campaign with a coin canister near their checkout area. Any coins or bills deposited in the canister will go toward the construction of the new Children’s Hospital tower. “This is just one way we can encourage others to support the hospital without any hassle,” said Gagan Batta, co-owner of Nekter. “I think everyone should support Loma Linda because it’s a great way to give back to the community.” Batta and his wife, Naiya, own the Redlands store, but it is a family operated business. “My brother handles operations, my wife does marketing and my dad also helps out with the business,” Batta boasted of his family, one that he said is forever indebted to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital where a young family member was treated for cancer. “Loma Linda saved his life,” Batta stated, “and we cannot thank the doctors enough for saving him.” So when Batta opened Nekter in January this year, he and his family made a commitment to give back to the community and Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. “We started working with the hospital soon after we opened,” Batta recalled. A fundraiser for LLUCH was held at the Redlands location on March 21 and 25 percent of sales for the day was donated to LLUCH — nearly $2,000. “The Children’s Hospital team put together a fundraiser in such a way that we had never seen,” Batta said, who has worked with other nonprofits and fundraisers. This one, however, brought in record-breaking sales and a line out the door. "Nekter is a great example of how local businesses can support the children of our communities by reaching out to their customers,” said Joanna DeLeon, director, LLUCH Foundation. “Together, we are able to successfully direct locally raised funds to help patients at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital.” After the successful fundraiser, Batta worked with the Children’s Hospital Foundation to be the first business in the community to utilize the coin canister. “I wish we could put one on every table,” he said. Batta and his family also own Nekter Juice Bars in Rancho Cucamonga and San Dimas, and he also plans to host fundraisers at those locations. For more information on how you can support LLUCH through the Give Now Build Hope campaign, visit GiveVision2020.org.