Many of you have asked us, ''How much do we give'' and ''Where does it go?'' Let us try and tell you what the philosophy behind our business is and how we go about determining what and where to give.
First of all, we have ALWAYS given money to cancer research, right from the day that we began this business in March of 1999. We made that our first priority, because Chris was continuing her ongoing battle with inflammatory breast cancer, and we saw first hand the need to raise dollars for the new drugs that would hopefully save her life. Our motives were rather selfish at that point, but we soon learned that we didn't have to look far to find many more people just like Chris. Unfortunately, Chris lost her battle in 2003, but that only served as a catalyst for us to work harder than we ever thought possible to raise research dollars. We worked without a salary for the first 4 years, so that we could make donating our priority. (Special thanks to our husbands who have ''real'' jobs and have been so supportive of our efforts and long hours). We also found many wonderful people along the way who helped us. One company donated a laser printer and another gifted us with our first website. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to our volunteer workers who make it possible for us to continue to design and produce our own product line. A special thanks to Chris' parents, Bob and Joan Johnson, who put in almost as many hours as we do to continue their daughter's legacy and to Linda's parents, Steve and Fran LaCoursier as well as her aunt, Evelyn Kaiser. Their endless hours of work enable us to give more money.
At the present time, we donate approximately 10 - 20% of our total sales (before expenses) to a variety of leading cancer research institutions. As with every business, we have the usual expenditures such as web site set-up and maintenance, catalogs and other printed matter, utililities, telephone, and maintaining and increasing our inventory. We always make sure that our money goes directly to GENERAL CANCER RESEARCH. That way, every cancer gets a portion of our donations. Listed below are the current facilities that are recipients of our money and a link to their sites:
We will continue to add additional research facilities to our list as our donations increase. In addition to dollars, we donate a large amount of product to a variety of fundraisers, benefits, relays, and any other event that is raising money for cancer research. We are proud to say that we have accomplished what we set out to do even beyond our wildest dreams, and we will continue to work to raise the bar for other organizations just like us. When purchasing a cancer-related gift item, we challenge everyone to ask, ''Do you donate a portion of the proceeds?'' If not, find someone who does…no one should be allowed to profit from cancer! We look forward to the day when we are put out of business because a cure is found. Then we will have accomplished what we set out to do.
In Faith, Hope, Love and Healing,
Paula and Linda
