There is so much good stuff going on with nonprofitshoppingmall.com these days that it’s been a little tough finding the time to get on with this whole blogging concept. Yet, I’m getting the hang of it and have come to realize that I am pretty much supposed to work around the clock to keep up with the demands of running a site like ours, while at the same time keep you updated with fresh, new and sometimes even newsworthy information. While this isn’t one of those especially newsworthy pieces, it does come to you with a great deal of heart. This site wasn’t created randomly – it was initially intended to raise funds for and honor the champion spirit of Special Olympics athletes the world over – with perhaps a bias for those that I got to know personally during my tenure with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) as its Development Director in Orange County. I’m happy to report that SOSC went live with their custom ’shopping window’ recently and are now on their way to raising even more money to support the more than 12,500 Special Olympics athletes that live, train and compete in Southern California.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization. I didn’t either until I started to work for them. Sure, I’d heard of Special Olympics, who hasn’t – but the misconception still lies in the fact that most people don’t realize that it’s a year-round, free program, offering sports training and competitive opportunities to men, women, boys and girls with varying degrees of intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, develop self esteem and find a place in society that’s accepting and empowering. With over 2.5 million Special Olympics athletes participating in programs in North America and some 165 countries worldwide, the movement has set a formidable goal to grow to 3 million athletes by 2010.
One of the greatest joys that comes from working with Special Olympics athletes and their families is knowing that the motto ‘Special Olympics Changes Lives’ is actually true. I know it’s changed mine and I’ve seen first hand how it changes the athletes, their families, friends and communities. Special Olympics games and tournaments are held in the truest sense of the competitive spirit. Perhaps no world records will ever be broken for speed or distance in Special Olympics but each athlete steps out onto the playing field ‘if not to win, to be brave in the attempt’ and achieve a personal best. As a movement, Special Olympics has the ability to change attitudes around the world about people with intellectual disabilities by sending a focused message emphasizing potential, ability and acceptance.
To truly capture the spirit of Special Olympics, please take a minute to watch the attached video. I think you’ll be glad you did.
So welcome to our first blog – this is all kinda new to me so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m not even remotely proficient at this. I’m sure I’ll get better with time and I hope you’ll hang in with me as I make my way, in what for me, is uncharted territory. As I’m sure you’ve seen from the changes on our homepage, we’ve been very fortunate to have Rene Syler support our site by leading the charge to make Breast Cancer Awareness an important focus for us this month. I encourage you to read about her long-standing work with Susan G Komen for the Cure and the circumstances that led her to make a very courageous decision to undergo a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. I also encourage you to pick up a copy of her book Good Enough Mother. If you’re a mother, especially a working or single mother, she answers those nagging questions I know I always had tuggin’ at the back of my head like, do you think they’ll notice that these cupcakes are store bought and that I’ve just added sprinkles to give them that home-made touch or that I’m wearing my pj’s in the car because I just can’t get my son and myself dressed and out the door at the same time. She gives us all permission to do what we need to do in order to make mothering work for us. I loved it – she also goes into more detail about her life decisions, her work and the road she’s traveled and is still traveling today.
René is a Person Who Cares and we thank her again for caring about Susan G. Komen for the Cure and for taking a stand to help find a cure for breast cancer forever.
As part of our Breast Cancer Awareness feature, and as an introduction to what this blog is all about as it relates to our retailers – let me explain my vision for FRONT-LINE RETAIL NEWS. While we want to make sure you’re kept up to date on all of our retail offers and encourage you to look for them under our SALES + PROMOTIONS category on the Mall Pages, we also want to use this space to introduce new, innovative or one-of-a-kind merchandisers. Our first retailer we’re excited to highlight is designer Julia Wynn who’s based in Santa Barbara, California. Whomever it was that said one should stop to smell the roses was certainly on to something. I would never have run into Julia had I not stolen a little time to stroll Santa Barbara’s boardwalk and explore (in the way a shopper explores) the line of booths that stretched the distance between my hotel and the pier. It was during that walk that I ran across Julia Wynn, the ultra charming, ultra chic creator of the simply fabulous BOUVÉ (boo-vay), a beautifully designed, one-size, hat for all seasons. Her fun, fantastic head wraps are the fashion-magic piece every woman dreams of – especially on those rampant, outta nowhere and always-inconvenient bad hair days. With just a slight twist of the wrist, this must-have accessory takes you from ordinary to extraordinary in face-saving seconds!!
Are you wondering yet how this product ties-in to Breast Cancer Awareness month? It’s one of those ironic coincidences I think because the whole concept behind the bouvé was really quite simple; they were designed as versatile and playful fashion accessories. But as creative director Julia Wynn started to sell and market her fun, sporty product, she knew they were also quite special in some other deeply profound way. Her answer came when she discovered that they were wonderfully therapeutic as well. Without really intending to, Julia had created the ideal solution for both stylish and comfortable headwear for all women suffering from hair loss, particularly those who had lost, or were losing, their hair due to chemotherapy. Bouvés fill a huge need for these women, not just to cover their heads, but also to feel beautiful, stylish and nurtured as they work through the process of healing.
We say ‘hats off’ to Julia and her innovative headwear. It’s time to buy-in to some serious ‘hattitude’ and our timing couldn’t be better. With crisp fall weather ahead, ski and snowboard season just around the corner and the holidays nipping at our heels, when you buy a Bouvé or two through this site $2.50 per item will be donated to the nonprofit organization of your choice. During the month of October we encourage you to choose Susan G. Komen for the Cure and help them fulfill a promise to end breast cancer forever.
Other retailers that are giving back to breast cancer initiatives are Bloomingdale’s, Red Envelope, Ritz Camera, Limoge’s Jewelry, A Pea in the Pod and Organic Bouquet. Check out these retailers on our THINK PINK + SHOP FOR THE CURE page. Keep in mind that whatever they give, by shopping with us, you’ll be giving twice. Once through the retailer directly and again when you choose a nonprofit from our site. How cool is that? Pretty cool I’d say.So for my first ever blog I went on a lot longer than I thought I possibly could. We’ll be posting retailer updates throughout the month and keep you abreast on issues near and dear to us along the way as well. As a little sign-off piece, I thought I’d add this cartoon I found on cancervixen.com – true — there’s never a good time for cancer –but with your help, organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure can continue to do good work to help find a cure for breast cancer in your/our lifetime and I’m all for that!
Other retailers that are giving back to breast cancer initiatives are Bloomingdale’s, Red Envelope, Ritz Camera, Limoge’s Jewelry, A Pea in the Pod and Organic Bouquet. Check out these retailers on our THINK PINK + SHOP FOR THE CURE page. Keep in mind that whatever they give, by shopping with us, you’ll be giving twice. Once through the retailer directly and again when you choose a nonprofit from our site. How cool is that? Pretty cool I’d say.So for my first ever blog I went on a lot longer than I thought I possibly could. We’ll be posting retailer updates throughout the month and keep you abreast on issues near and dear to us along the way as well. As a little sign-off piece, I thought I’d add this cartoon I found on cancervixen.com – true — there’s never a good time for cancer –but with your help, organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure can continue to do good work to help find a cure for breast cancer in your/our lifetime and I’m all for that!