Giving Hope

Did you know that almost all large companies out there try to give back and help those in need? I didn't! You can walk into any Target and see it on their wall, any Whole Foods and see their calendar of donation, Sears, etc. I was a little floored by this- but more importantly I was thinking... GOOD! With what these companies pull in every day I would expect they would give some back- it is the humanitarian thing to do. I was even more surprised by how many large companies do NOT have a charity system set up. I wanted to take a minute to tell you how proud I am of our small family company for doing the right thing and giving back as much as we can, with much fewer resources than those large companies.

Not only do we have FREE charity packs on our website every day for people who need decals for their church, fundraiser, or even to raffle off for a charitable organization, but we also give to those in need any time we can. To date we've given a few thousand dollars to those in need, and we will continue to do so as much as possible.

You can read more about our charity packs HERE. It is an honor system, and we ask for a few details to help weed out the people who are using it for those in need or just trying to get some free decals. If you want next to free decals please check out our clearance section HERE, I promise that we have really great deals in here.

Below you will find a few of the causes that we've given to just this month- they really struck a chord in my heart, and I wanted to share- and use this as an example for you to tell us when you come across those in need so we can help out. Running a business takes time, so we can't go out as much as we'd like to find people or places in need, we rely on you to give us a little heads-up!

Bright Horizons Foundation & New Moms: 

"I am part of a group from the Parent Marketing Department within our company [Bright Horizons] that is involved with a community nonprofit organization, New Mom’s, located in Chicago...New Mom’s purpose for existence is to help break the cycle of poverty for at-risk “adolescent” single moms.  A couple years ago, a fire destroyed their facility and they had to rebuild.  The facility has been built and we have come in to furnish three living room spaces in which we raised funds to order furniture for moms and children as well as educational and play materials for the children. I am flying to Chicago next week to help set up and decorate the space.  I would love to include wall text for each of the three living room spaces on each floor.  (The moms and children have their own apartments which include  a kitchenette and bedrooms (and they share the three living room spaces on the three floors.)  Since New Mom’s is in Chicago, we have decided to focus on a specific Chicago site for each space. 

The wall space we will be filling will range from approximately 8’ to  10’ long.  So I think we would need sizes from around 70” – 110”  long from which to select. 

Lastly, I would like to ask if you would be willing to donate all or a portion of this order."

-We donated and overnighted $500 in decals to the facility and they should be proudly on display here in the coming week. 

YMCA Stingray Special Needs Aquatics Team- California

Hello,

My name is Ed Callahan, I am the head coach of the YMCA Stingray special needs aquatics team that is based out of Monrovia. These special needs kids consist of disabilities that range from autism, downs syndrome, and many other disabilities. Just recently we were told that we could have our own swim meet on Sunday March 27^th 2014. We are very excited and at this time we have invited an estimated 350 athletes. Needless to say that putting on this swim meet has it cost. This is our first meet so our team parents are trying to accommodate all our needs but it is getting hard for us and with being a non-profit organization funds are limited.

I am writing to you today to see if you can help us by donating gift certificates, product, merchandise to make a gift basket for our raffle, or anything of that nature that we can use as a door prize to raffle off. The proceeds from the raffle will go to pay for the athletes lunches for that day as well as pay for the pool and the lifeguards, the remaining balance will go to provide fund to keep the swim programs going for the special needs kids all over the area. I realize that this may be asking for a lot but these kids have worked so hard and I have worked so hard to keep these programs going but we are running out of funds so by having a donation like yours maybe it will give us that chance to raise enough funds to keep these programs going for the special needs kids, so can you find it in your heart to help us out please. The success of our programs for these special needs kids are based on donations and without the donations we will be forced to either cancel the event or cancel the program something I really do not want to do to these kids because they have already been through enough in their lives. We do not have the funding nor do we have a budget nor do we have extra cash everything we have to buy comes out of my pocket, something I cant afford to do anymore since losing my job about 6 months ago so please I am asking can you please help out this worthy cause, please. I know there is substantial time before our special needs swim meet but we are trying to get as many donations as I can so that we can see what food we will have to purchase out of our own pockets, that is why we are trying to see what companies can commit to us so we know where we stand. We are in desperate need of items that we can also put in to the athletes thank you bag that we are going to give each athlete for trying there hardest and doing their best, so please I am begging you for your help in this matter by maybe also helping to donate some smaller things as well that we can put in their bags. I am hoping that you can please help us out, and if you need a letter for your tax purposes I can provide you with one. If you do have any questions or would like to donate to our Stingray swim team please let me know. We would appreciate any help that you can offer.

In today’s society special needs athletes do not have a lot out programs that accommodate then their special disabilities. Our motto is “We swim to show our abilities, not our disabilities.” I have been a part of this swim program now going on 12 years and I have never regretted a single moment, grant you there have been times financially that it has been hard but for the most part we have succeeded with this program, so any help that you can offer us would be so welcomed and if you have a banner or sign you would like hung at our event please let us  know. 

Ed Callahan

Head Coach

San Gabriel Valley Stingrays Special Needs Aquatics Team

We replied letting them know we'd be happy to send something: 

We cant thank you enough we are having such a hard time getting donations actually we have gotten very little if any, so when I opened yours I was so excited. Thanks again you are going to put so many smiles on so many kids because you believe in them so thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

It really makes us feel so happy to be a part of something bigger- to give to those who need it, and to support those people in any way we can. You wouldn't think mere decals could make such a difference, but they do- they are used to put a smile on your walls, an uplifting saying in an otherwise dismal room, or even used as a raffle piece to get more money for your fundraiser. Please let us know your cause so we can do our best to help you out!