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While we can’t give the gift of health or well-being, we can give gifts that promote charity, foster fitness, and support women business owners.
Gifts like these are appropriate at many times of the year to celebrate special occasions, as a thank you for a job well done or for sending business your way, as employee incentives or just to elicit a smile from a favorite person on your list.
Whether it is a holiday season or the middle of the summer, read through this guide—we’ve done the investigating and the research for you—and get comfortable shopping from your office or living room.
Hopefully these gifts will spark your imagination and will help you give a marvelous treat to the recipients, whether they are your friends, employees, customers, charities, or other women entrepreneurs.
Included in this guide are:
• At least one outrageous gift to dream about
• Six great gifts to give back to others
• Seven women entrepreneurs with nifty gifts for sale, and
• Ten best bets in fitness gifts.
Enjoy!
Leslie Atkins
Women Business Owners Sell Gift Items
By Mary Cantando
Supporting our own is one way we can contribute to the “old girls’ network” of which we are a part. If, as is the case in the women featured below, the products they sell happen to be wonderful, all the better.
Alicia Crabb—Almond Brothers Company—Phoenix, Arizona
The perfect gift for all the “nuts” on your list…
Almond Brothers’ Signature Gift, an assortment of Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, Praline Pecans, Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate Cheesecake Fudge. $25.00 at www.AlmondBrothers.com or at 1-800-308-2909.
The story behind the gift…
In 1993, Alicia Crabb opened the doors to Naturally Arizona, a retail gift shop at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. In a highly competitive environment, Alicia was able to work marketing magic, drawing a 200 percent sales increase in just two years.
But growing Naturally Arizona while raising a family was not enough for Alicia. In 2000, she and her husband, Steve Godber set out to build Almond Brothers, a gourmet catalogue food company. Working more of her magic, Alicia tripled Almond Brothers’ corporate sales and generated more than $2 million in revenue in just another two years.
Under Alicia’s influence, Almond Brothers has a reputation for creatively packaging high quality gourmet foods that are perfect for corporate gifts. And she recently devised a great way to personalize gifts by printing company logos on each packaged item. Alicia says, “Putting your own company logo on the packaging makes an upscale gift for your client or customer… plus it tastes wonderful!” Almond Brothers charges a one-time fee of $25 to put a logo on any product.
The company behind the gift…
Almond Brothers offers a distinctive assortment of gourmet almonds, pecans, cashews, pistachios, homemade fudge and assorted chocolates and candies. There is a fudge flavor for everyone’s taste, from traditional chocolate to more exotic southwestern flavors such as Jalapeno, Prickly Pear and Margarita.
Almond Brothers’ products are all made fresh to order, with the highest quality nuts and chocolates. Carmel almonds, which are plumper and have a more robust flavor than standard grocery store almonds, are used exclusively. And the Arizona weather is perfect for producing the sweetest tasting pecan.
Pamela Barefoot—Blue Crab Bay Company—Melfa, Virginia
For the sea lover…
A nautical gift assortment, The Captain's Choice, consists of a cardboard sea crate filled with Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer with Clam Juice (and recipes), Crab House Crunch and Clam Dip Kit. $ 29.95 at http://www.bluecrabbay.com/products.asp?dept=1009 or at 1-800-221-2722.
A story of passion winning out…
“Creative survival” was Pamela Barefoot’s mantra when she moved to the Eastern Shore of Virginia in 1984. She had left a secure job with no idea how to earn an income. But her love for fishing and clamming drew her to the seaside area. While driving the back roads one day, she came upon a craftsman making hand woven baskets in a small country store. Watching him sparked the idea to market local products. Thus Pamela began a product line based on the regional specialties of crabs, clams and fish.
Over the years, Pamela has learned that it is possible to marry a successful business to a happy lifestyle. She provides opportunities for her employees to grow professionally, while allowing them to work in a family style atmosphere. One example of her commitment to her employees as well as to her community is the “Blue Crabbers Annual Relay for Life” Team that raises funds for the American Cancer Society. Although her company now generates $2.7 million in annual revenue, Pamela’s says, “I don't care how ‘big’ we are as long as we are happy!”
And the company that evolved…
Blue Crab Bay offers seafood seasonings, seafood dip kits, crab cake and clam fritter kits, Bloody Mary mixers, seafood soups, condiments, snack mixes and nautical gifts.
The company’s best-selling product is Sting Ray Bloody Mary Mixer with Clam Juice. In 1993, when it appeared that Blue Crab Bay was destined to fail, Pamela decided to go for broke and develop her “dream product." So she began experimenting in her farmhouse kitchen. In May of that year, she found $1,715 in cash in a parking lot and located the money’s owner, a local minister, who offered to pray for her business. The very next day Pamela received an order for ten times the amount of the money she had returned. And sales increased every month after that. A few years later, Sting Ray was declared the Outstanding Beverage at the International Fancy Food Show. For the past ten years, Pamela’s go-for-broke “dream product” has been Blue Crab Bay’s top seller, accounting for 20 percent of annual sales.
Amy Hilliard—The ComfortCake Company—Chicago, Illinois
Tastes “so good it feels like a hug”…
ComfortCake’s signature Red Box Cake Classic Mini Trios feature flavors such as Awesome Almond, Luscious Lemon, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip Fantasy, and Sugarless Sweetness Lemon. $12.95 at http://www.comfortcake.com or at 1-866-264-CAKE.
Amy’s story…
A graduate of both Howard University and Harvard University, Amy Hilliard started her professional career as a buyer for Bloomingdale’s. She later held executive marketing positions for major corporations including L’Oreal, Pillsbury and Gillette.
Though she was wildly successful in corporate marketing, Amy always dreamed of marketing her own products. Over the years, people tasted and loved her pound cake, based on her beloved grandfather’s recipe. So when she took the plunge to start her own company, it seemed natural to base her business on this family recipe. She knew she had made a good bet and that the business would be a success when she landed her first corporate order for half a million slices from United Airlines.
Keeping the business in the family, the ComfortCake Company tagline, “Pound cake so good it feels like a hug,” was created by Amy’s then fourteen-year-old daughter, Angelica. And her son, Nick, now fifteen, has been the chief taste tester since the first day of business; not a single product goes to market without his approval. Besides these key members of her “management team,” Amy has four other employees who produce the Southern-style pound cakes entirely from scratch.
What Amy loves the most about her business is watching the response from people tasting one of her cakes, “I love when people tell me that a ComfortCake tastes like someone they love made it for them. People say that my cakes are a homemade gift without the homemade hassle.”
Amy’s products…
ComfortCake Company offers gourmet, Southern-style, full or mini-sized pound cakes as gifts. Frozen batter, cake loaves, and cake slices are also available for retail and food service. Amy’s pound cakes come in a variety of flavors; her best-selling ones are Luscious Lemon and Chocolate Chip Fantasy. Her most interesting product, Sugarless Sweetness No Sugar Added cakes were developed in honor of Amy’s parents, who are both diabetic, and Amy donates a portion of the profit from these cakes to the American Diabetes Association. ComfortCake also offers liquor infused cakes in Lemon Dream, Island Vanilla, and Almond Italiano.
Rachel Gordon—Dancing Deer Baking Company—Boston, Massachusetts
A whimsical gift…
Baked fresh and packaged in Dancing Deer’s whimsical and artsy style, Molasses Clove Cookies are sophisticated and simple, as well as soft and chewy. These cookies were even awarded the Food Industry’s “Oscar.” $14.50 at http://www.dancingdeer.com or at 1-888-669-DEER.
Rachel’s story…
Starting out in a former pizza parlor on a busy Boston street corner, Dancing Deer first produced high quality baked goods for restaurants and cafes. After achieving solid success in distributing goods to other retail shops, Dancing Deer opened its own retail shop, then expanded to provide a wide variety of baked goods through their website. With numerous food awards under their belt and accolades including, “the best cake in America,” Dancing Deer receives mountains of fan mail, which CEO and co-founder Rachel Gordon calls “the best reward of all.”
Rachel believes the company’s success is due to luck, dedication and hard work, coupled with remaining true to her principles. Having fun is also a key ingredient. With fifty-five employees and annual revenue of more than $5 million, Rachel believes there is more to selling cookies than turning a profit. She is most proud that her company has created jobs by creating a wonderful product. She says her employees are what make Dancing Deer such a success, “We have assembled an eclectic, talented, energetic core team; we focus our hiring decisions on character, drive and intelligence.” In addition to being a great place to work, all Dancing Deer employees have a financial stake in the company and share in the rewards of the company’s success.
Beyond happy employees producing a great product, Rachel’s company is also committed to helping out their community. In 2001, Dancing Deer launched the Sweet Home Project with the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation with the goal of ending family homelessness. Dancing Deer donates 35 percent of the profit from their Sweet Home Products line to help homeless families achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Rachel’s products…
Dancing Deer specializes in fresh, all natural bakery products, available through retailers such as Whole Foods Markets, Wild Oats, and Williams-Sonoma. The Molasses Clove Cookie, derived from a grandmother’s recipe, was their very first product and today remains their best seller. That cookie, along with other favorites, Chocolate Espresso, Deep Dark Gingerbread Cakes, Sugar Cane Lime Cookies, and Lavender Scented Shortbreads, are all packaged with an artistic touch.
Jill Marcus—Something Classic—Charlotte, North Carolina
A real down home dinner…
Serving 4 to 6 people, The Classic Chicken Pie is made from chicken pulled right off the bone, carrots, red potatoes, baby French beans, fresh rosemary and wine. The three-pound gourmet pie is topped with a lattice puff pastry. $48 for one or two for $84 (includes express shipping), at http://www.somethingclassic.com or at 704-377-4202.
Jill’s story…
While earning a degree in political science and winning a national tennis championship, a culinary arts career was the last thing Jill Marcus ever imagined. At the end of college, she traveled extensively throughout Europe and then spent a few years living in Bologna, Italy. One evening, Jill’s family hosted a party and the following morning a write-up of the party, featuring Jill’s pasta salad, appeared in the newspaper. The Italians had never heard of pasta salad and the article raved on and on about Jill’s dish. In the heart of food loving Italy, Jill had found her calling.
Although she never attended culinary school, Jill learned more about cooking from her international travels than she ever could have from an institution. Her company, Something Classic, was born sixteen years ago in her kitchen with her roommate Karen Teed. The two started out catering events, then opened a retail gourmet shop, preparing dinners-to-go in Charlotte, NC. Striving to be the best, Jill subscribed to every food magazine, attended seminars, and hired employees who knew how to build a great kitchen, all while raising a family and earning her MBA.
Today, with annual sales of more than $3 million and a staff of almost 100, Something Classic has catered functions for Senator John Edwards, Liza Minnelli, Johnny Cash, Peter Jennings, and Walter Cronkite. Jill now has three café locations and offers sixty-eight gourmet products through regional grocery stores. Her favorite part of the business is product and menu development, “It’s great to talk with people about their memories of food, and the traditions they grew up with. I love to learn how others prepare and display their specialties.”
Jill’s products…
Besides The Classic Chicken Pie, Something Classic offers gourmet TV dinners and a wide variety of comfort foods ranging from simple to fancy. Her customers’ most frequent requests include Jill’s Spicy Pimiento Cheese, as well as Horseradish Salmon over White Beans. However, The Classic Chicken Pie, which has been featured several times on the Food Network, takes center stage as the customer favorite.
Mary Cantando is president of Cantando & Associates, a speaking, publishing and consulting firm that focuses exclusively on women who own multi-million dollar businesses.
Travel and Fitness Gifts
By Leslie Atkins
Birthdays, holidays and other special occasions are for giving and getting—giving our time and attention, lending an ear or a bit of requested advice, providing company for the lonely or sad, encouragement for someone struggling, cheering for someone celebrating.
There are many occasions in which we have too many expectations and these expectations can lead to disappointment. At these times, the right gift can make the difference in someone’s life. Don’t give it out of obligation, but rather to help someone, to make someone smile, to bring a bit of happiness in what is more often than not a stressful time.
On the other hand, don’t forget to appreciate when someone gives to you—after all, you are giving a gift by letting someone else have the pleasure of giving you something special.
And what better way to show someone we care, than to give or receive a healthy excursion somewhere special, or a gift meant to promote fitness. So here are some great ideas. Use them as a guide. Then use your imagination and your knowledge of the gift’s recipient to adapt these to create an ultra special gift. It’s worth the time and effort to get it just right. Make sure to treat yourself to something special, too.
Gift for golfers… both male and female…the Willow Stream Facial Kit for Golf…for use off the course, features skin care products in a replica box of golf balls…$79 at www.willowstream.com …includes a vegetable skin cleanser, sunscreen, hand cream and more for active people who are out in the elements for long periods of time…from the spas at the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
A terrific trip to… The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa at the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico outside Albuquerque along the Rio Grande River, www.tamaya.hyatt.com, 505-867-1234. Tamaya is a beautiful, peaceful, delightful getaway for your favorite employee, client or yourself. The spa is excellent…quiet, upscale, very Native American in its feel for natural balance with specialty treatments that include a Pueblo Dry Brush Therapy and High Desert Enchantment.
Dreams can come true at Tamaya, which is located on 500 acres of protected land owned by the Pueblo people of Santa Ana. The land has been inhabited for more than a thousand years and it is considered a sacred spot. Three fabulous swimming pools, experienced trail guides and horse stables, and a golf course are just some of the activities.
There is also wonderful Native American art throughout Tamaya. One fabulous bronze sculpture by artist Sharon Fullingim sits outside the front doors to the resort with several Native American figures represented. The figure of the grandmother dipping water out of the fountain is known as “Water Woman” and represents the pueblo’s relationship with the life-giving force of the Rio Grande.
Dinner is exquisite at Tamaya’s Corn Maiden restaurant. There’s also a well-stocked gift shop. If you can bear to leave this wonderful place, you can drive 40 minutes to Santa Fe for the many intriguing museums and galleries there. In Santa Fe, have dinner at the Inn of the Anasazi. www.santafe.org .
For frequent travelers… an attractive laptop computer case or a frame to carry a family photo, a travel alarm, and an engrossing novel…are all good travel companions…and they make awesome gifts.
For tired friends or for yourself…buy the mattress and box spring from the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. It’s the most indulgent and comfortable bed imaginable. Treat yourself or someone you want to spoil. After all, good sleep is never over rated. Contact Laura Wolff, Gift Shop Manager, at 312-649-2357. You can also buy the comforter and pillows. Standard king size mattress and box spring, $1,875. King size, 100% goose down comforter, $300. Other sizes also available.
Remember, it is the thought that counts…Going to some extra trouble to buy a healthful, fitness full, relaxing gift for a business associate or friend will show them just how much you appreciate them. And there is no gift better than appreciation.
For a special treat…The Golden Door Spa… with its original location in Escondido, CA and three branches at The Boulders in Carefree, AZ, Wyndham El Conquistador in Las Croabas, Puerto Rico, and the Wyndham Peaks in Telluride, CO at www.wyndham.com or www.goldendoorspa.com . They all have Pilates and yoga…for an extra special gift book a trip for your best client…and go with her.
For a taste of The Golden Door without leaving home, Chef Michel Stroot has compiled many of his marvelous recipes along with interesting notes and guides in The Golden Door Cooks Light & Easy at $29.95 at www.goldendoorboutique.com or 877-857-0500.
Golden Door Spa Journal is a notebook for creatively exploring your thoughts; it comes with journal tips, meditations and dream sheets for $25.00. And Toasty Bear is a plush stuffed animal filled with buckwheat and flaxseed and a blend of nine herbs. You heat the bear in the microwave, and then hug away, for $46.
At many destination spas like The Golden Door, guests are encouraged to express themselves through journaling by writing down their thoughts and feelings. Journaling can reduce stress and facilitate self-discovery…
Felice Willat, founder and president of Tools With Heart, LLC, creates the Golden Door Spa Journal and she sells journals directly to the public, too. The books are works of art as well as a means of self-discovery. Although they are beautiful, recipients are encouraged to write freely in them, and to adopt the attitude that their thoughts are worthy of the expensive paper.
Willat previously co-founded the Day Runner time management system and followed with Tools With Heart in 1995. “After so many years of organizing the outer life, I felt it was time to focus on the internal,” she says. Her journals provide writing prompts to act as gentle guides. For further information, visit www.toolswithheart.com .
While journals take care of the mind, Kohler Waters Spa in Wisconsin has appealing gifts available online at www.DestinationKohler.com geared more toward the body. One example is their Hollyhock Gift Set with 8 oz. sizes of Body Wash, Body Lotion and Body Oil. $50.
A wonderful place to go… yourself, or to send your star employees for a few days, is The Peninsula Chicago, www.chicago.peninsula.com or 312-337-2888. Some historians say the name “Chicago” derives from the Illinois Indian word for “great,” and the city on the shore of Lake Michigan is a wondrous place. So is The Peninsula Hotel wondrous, and it is located on the Magnificent Mile. Shop at the luxury stores along Michigan Avenue, have breakfast at the hotel’s Pierrot Gourmet, and visit The Art Institute of Chicago (111 South Michigan Avenue) where you can see Renoir’s Acrobats at the Circus Fernando, Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge, Grant Wood’s American Gothic, and Andy Warhol’s Mao – from among the Institute’s extensive collection of masterpieces.
You can also shop at The Peninsula’s gift shop, called simply “The Shop,” on the lobby level. The Shop sells Vosges chocolates; the chocolate company is based in Chicago and is owned by a woman, Katrina Markoff. Their truffles are infused with rare spices and flowers, www.vosgeschocolate.com .
In keeping with the hotel’s Asian background (the flagship hotel is in Hong Kong), you can go to the spa for such body treatments as a Warm Japanese Mint Aroma Wrap & De-stress Facial. You can also dine on exquisite Asian food at the Shanghai Terrace, one of the hotel’s four restaurants. And The Shop sells Shanghai Tang silk accessories and gifts, including decadent but beautiful travel blankets in cashmere with silk trim for $550.
Going away to a wonderful resort is a great way to jumpstart a diet and exercise program. It is good for that great assistant who is stressed from a heavy workload, your best friend or yourself. If that is too extravagant, smaller fitness gifts include sweat suits, weights, fitness books, videos, equipment, exercise classes, health club memberships, and massage appointments. Or you can buy someone three sessions with a personal trainer to jumpstart her effort to get fit.
For those too busy to get away, Lake Austin Spa Resort in Austin, TX offers Fresh Healthy Cooking and Living from Lake Austin Spa Resort. Chef Terry Conlan created the recipes and the book is full of terrific explanations. www.lakeaustin.com/specialty.php or 512-372-7270. $30.
Canyon Ranch Cooks by Barry Correia, Scott Uehlein, and the Kitchen Staff of Canyon Ranch is another great spa cookbook. $29.95 at www.rodalestore.com or www.amazon.com .
Some marvelous gifts, like these spa cookbooks, are small and inexpensive. But they can still be thoughtful and delightful. Presents both large and small, bringing good things to friends and family, employees, clients and business associates.
Then there are the ultimate fitness fantasies in which we imagine ourselves thinner, faster and stronger. For those with both calories and extra dollars to burn, visits to destination spas around the country fit the bill.
As we know from being women business owners, image is important. So don’t forget the gift wrapping or the dramatic presentation. After all, Tiffany is successful in part because of its branding of those wonderful turquoise boxes. Get one of those, in any size, and the anticipation quotient skyrockets.
Finally, for your sister, mother, daughter, best friend, and the woman business owner down the street or across the country, a gift subscription to Enterprising Women is easy to give and always appreciated. The magazine subscription will be packaged with a special gift incentive in 2005 so check it out at www.enterprisingwomen.com.
For those who are talented enough to make homemade presents, those are always treasured. For those of us who aren’t or don’t because of time constraints, there are lots of ways we can show our appreciation and caring through the purchase of a thoughtful gift. One gift that is healthful, promotes fitness or just fosters pure pleasure, is always, always welcome.
Leslie Atkins is president and owner of LA Communications, LLC, a writing and editorial services firm that specializes in speechwriting, corporate communications and public relations.
Gifts from Heart to Heart
By Harriet Diamond
Women entrepreneurs know the value of giving to others. They regularly share insights, knowledge, and skills with one another. Charitable giving is a strong entrepreneurial tendency as well, and gifts from the heart are always in season.
Charitable giving takes a variety of forms – financial contributions, in-kind products and services, volunteer activities, and other creative options. In this age of information, venues for charitable giving abound on the Internet. Always, charitable gift giving feels good and does good for the community in which we live.
Following are a few suggestions to get you started. The focus is on non-profits that meet the needs of women and girls who are seeking to develop business skills and acquire business tools.
Remember that your gifts will be welcome long after the celebrations are over.
Count Me In
Count Me In champions the cause for women’s economic independence by providing access to business loans, consultation, and education. The first online micro lender, Count Me In uses a unique women-friendly credit scoring system to make loans of $500 to $10,000 to women across the United States who have nowhere to turn for that important first business loan. The organization also provides access to networks that expand contacts, skills, and confidence.
Count Me In’s Web site describes investing in the organization’s diverse loan fund. An excellent way to support this organization is to go to the Count Me In Marketplace and patronize those online businesses that have blossomed as a result of receiving Count Me In loans.
Count Me In offers a variety of giving options. One option is to buy from Count Me In’s successful businesses. This entails giving two gifts in one—one for the recipient and the gift of growth to the business that has overcome obstacles.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, investments, and supporting Count Me In
businesses
Phone: 212-241245
www.count-me-in.org.
Gifts in Kind International
Gifts in Kind International is dedicated to providing quality products and services non-profits need to continue improving lives and communities around the world. The organization can help any company in any country develop product donation programs in support of thousands of affiliated Gifts in Kind programs and global non-profit/non-governmental organizations. Our free donation management services makes giving both simple and rewarding. International partners include corporations, associations, and non-profit agencies.
A recent Gifts in Kind facet is a new donation program with the World Bank, which will be donating recycled computers to assist non-profits/NGO’s in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and countries in which the World Bank has facilities, as well as in other countries with a significant need for technology.
Planning a computer upgrade for your home or business? Give yourself the gift of knowing that the equipment that has served you so well in the past is now building someone else’s future.
.
Welcome donations: grants, products, services
Phone: 703-836-2121
www.giftsinkind.org
The Women’s Alliance
The Women’s Alliance is a national organization of independent, community-based members who provide professional attire, career skills training, and related services to low-income women seeking employment. The Women’s Alliance strengthens our members through organizational and program development, marketing, and public relations.
The organization, with the message, “Someone’s future is hanging in your closet,” has identified and is trying to meet a special need for plus size business clothing. One initiative, affordable to any donor is Dressing Fine for $29. Donations ranging from $29 to $390 will buy one, two-piece suit to 10, three-piece outfits for women either entering or returning to the workforce.
Having difficulty parting with that “lucky suit,” the “when I’m a size ‘whatever’ again” collection, or just the favorites that no longer suit you? Suit someone’s future with your past wardrobe.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, business attire, and accessories
Phone: 305-762-6400
www.thewomensalliance.org
Girls Inc.
Girls Inc. is a national non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. For over 50 years, Girls Inc. has provided educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, underserved areas.
A broad spectrum of programs, ranging from drugs and alcohol, and economic literacy to science and technology, and leadership development, reaches this organization’s target audience.
We all know how critical intervention is to shaping our youth’s futures. Your donation can put a young woman on a road otherwise not accessible.
Welcome donations: financial contributions
Phone: 1-800-374-4475
www.girlsinc.org
Center for Women's Business Research
The Center's mission is to unleash the economic potential of women entrepreneurs by conducting research, sharing information, and increasing knowledge about this fast-growing sector of the economy. Armed with hard data, we are a catalyst for change. Our research gets companies, policy makers, and other organizations to step forward and meet women's needs with good programs, products, and services. Those are real results!
The Center for Women's Business Research keeps women's business issues in the forefront and ensures that policy makers, corporate leaders, government agencies, and the media remain aware of the economic impact of women-owned businesses and the issues that concern this vital business sector.
This significant research organization relies on valued corporate partnerships and sponsorships to bring its significant findings to the largest audiences. Your businesses involvement or significant financial contribution is a gift to all women business owners year round.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, sponsorships, partnerships
Phone: 202-638-3060
www.womensbusinessresearch.org
Bright Horizons Foundation for Children
Every child – no matter his or her circumstance – deserves the benefits of a high quality environment for play and learning. Every child needs the chance to discover the world of books, to find the artist within, to play dress up and run and sing and laugh. The Bright Horizons Foundation for Children supports programs that serve at-risk children, instill a positive self-concept and self-esteem in children; provide nurturing, creative environments; and support and facilitate the development of strong families.
A major initiative of the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children is its Bright Spaces program, dedicated to creating environments for exploring, dreaming, and discovering in homeless shelters. These engaging playrooms not only brighten the lives of the children they serve, but lighten the burdens of the parents who love them. As one parent put it, “Children living in a shelter need something to do, a place to go and be children, to make it easier to adjust to the shelter and relax."
Your gift to the foundation will fund, in whole or part, a Bright Space. Your gift may honor the memory of a loved one, a milestone or an achievement, or be there just for those in need.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, stock
Phone: 615-256-9914 x1845
www.brighthorizons.com/foundation
Gilda’s Club
The mission of Gilda’s Club is to provide meeting places where men, women, and children living with cancer and their families and friends can join with others to build emotional and social support as a supplement to medical care. Gilda’s Club offers support and networking groups, lectures, workshops, and social events in a non-residential, home-like setting.
All services are free of charge. This rapidly-growing support network exists solely through generous donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, services, volunteer activities, products, appreciated securities, real property, bequests.
Gilda’s Club’s variety of contribution paths allows donors creative options. Another gift that keeps giving is volunteering at a Gilda’s Club in your area.
Phone: 1-888-GILDA4U
www.gildasclub.org
City of Hope
City of Hope is one of just a handful of Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). At the City of Hope, more than 300 physicians and scientists and over 2,500 employees work to find the causes of and cures for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Philanthropic support accounts for one fifth of City of Hope’s operating budget. A worldwide network of volunteers and donors facilitate the organization’s lifesaving work.
A gift of hope is especially appropriate during the holidays. Your contributions will have lasting effects.
Welcome donations: financial contributions, volunteers, blood
Phone: 626-256-HOPE
www.cityofhope.org
From those organizations listed as well as those that have come to mind as you read this article, thank you for considering a gift from the heart.
Harriet Diamond, founder and past president of Diamond Associates, a training and consulting firm, now devotes her time to writing and speaking engagements.
(This article is reprinted from the Winter 2005 edition of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright 2005 Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited, except by express permission of the publisher.)
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