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Gift for Life Starts New Fundraiser
May 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on May 26, 2010
Gift for Life, the gift, stationery and home décor industries' charitable organization, has a new fundraising initiativeChange for Life.
The national donation program begins with a select group of 12 industry-leading companies setting aside a pre-determined, per-order amount to Gift for Life for each order placed at major trade events across the United States for the remainder of this year. Change for Life will kick off in Dallas in June and will continue through October in High Point.
The program was initiated by Gift For Life in connection with industry icon Randy Ellers summer 2010 receipt of Gift for Lifes Industry Achievement Award.
Creating a new national program not only helps Gift for Life but unifies the industry for a single important cause, Eller said. When we contacted a select group of leading companies they were quick to embrace the idea.
Currently 12 companies serve as founding partners:
Alexas Angels,
Appleman Schauben,
CR Gibson,
Evergreen,
Global Views,
IMAX,
Lazy Susan,
Lindsey Phillips,
Mudpie,
OneCoast,
Twos Company and
Uttermost.
This is a meaningful partnership for all of us, said John Keiser, CEO of OneCoast. As we service tens of thousands of customers we can offer an efficient way to support a worthy cause. Its business with heart.
These generous companies recognize that commerce and charity can work together and in turn create a better world, said Jenny Hammons, chair of the Gift for Life board. We are thrilled to have strong partners as we launch this nationwide program.
Following the 2010 launch, Change for Life will be rolled out across the industry and additional companies will be invited to participate.
Gift for Life presents its annual Industry Achievement Award each August as part of the Gifts & Decorative Accessories Retailer Excellence Awards. In addition, Gift for Life hosts regional events throughout the United States and a national fundraiser each winter in New York City during the New York International Gift Fair. Funds benefit
DIFFADesign Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Gift for Life was founded in 1992, and since then, the organization has raised nearly $4 million through special events, cause-related marketing, promotions, and from corporate and individual donations.
DIFFA is one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S. Since its founding in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the resources of the design communities to provide more than $38 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide.