The Adventures of Rita and Caroline, Part III

The weather has been brutal in Memphis this winter, but that hasn’t stopped our two fearless solicitors from venturing out for donations. 

This time we find them at a random business in Memphis.  They enter and tell their story to the business owner only to find that her daughter had started school in Kenya several years ago.  She had firsthand knowledge of the situation in Nairobi and was willing and happy to make a donation.

The odds of meeting a business owner in Memphis who has a child that started school in Kenya are very low, but once again it was the perfect combination needed to feed the children in Nairobi. Again, that’s what it’s all about.

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The Adventures of Rita and Caroline, Part II

Rita and Caroline are at it again, diligently soliciting donations for such a great cause! This time they visited a hair salon in East Memphis.

Upon entering the salon they were greeted by one of the stylists. They explained that they were soliciting donations for Coins 4 Kids, an organization that works in cooperation with the World Food Programme to feed children in Nairobi, Kenya. The stylist told them that they would need to speak to the owner who wasn’t in at the time.

During the exchange, the client of the stylist overheard the conversation and asked if Rita and Caroline could wait a few minutes until she was done. Of course they waited to see what she had to say. It turned out this woman had a brother who had been in the Peace Corps in Africa and she was delighted to make a donation. She wrote a check for $200 on the spot!

Was it a coincidence that the generous person was having her hair done on the day that Rita and Caroline visited the salon? Maybe it was or maybe it wasn’t, but it was the perfect combination needed to feed the children in Nairobi. And that’s what it’s all about.

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Marriott Teams Up with Coins 4 Kids...Donates Fabulous Vacations to Online Auction!

Linda Liberto, Floor Champion for the 9th Floor, is an enthusiastic supporter of Coins 4 Kids. She has worked with Marriott Hotels and Resorts for many years and has developed an excellent relationship.  A few years ago, Linda's contact at Marriott shared the Coins 4 Kids fundraising program with his managers to raise awareness about the children in Nairobi and the teamwork began.  In the first two years, Marriott donated 8 vacation stays from Marriott International.  This year, we are excited to include 13 vacations in our online auction!

Get ready to bid on some of these fabulous vacations:

**Marco Island, Florida, Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa - 2 night stay

**JW Marriott Scottsdale, Arizona, Camelback Inn Resort & Spa - 2 night stay

**The Shoals Alabama Golf & Spa Resort - includes golf and spa certificates

And many more!

We are also delighted that Marriott promotes our online auction internally, helping to get more bidders for our great items.

The Spring 4 Kids online auction is more successful each year due to the generosity of donors like Marriott and committed volunteers like Linda who spread the word about the children in Nairobi who desperately need our help!

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A Chance! Meet Angi and Misty!

We spoke to two of the Spring 4 Kids auction team volunteers about their experience working on the auction team. This is their first year helping out with this effort.

Meet Angi and Misty.

Misty and her husband Tom along with Angi and her husband Mike. For these two girlfriends, deciding to help with the auction of Coins4Kids has been a learning experience.

For these two this experience has brought them many fond memories and a wonderful experience.

We asked them, "What is your favorite memory of the Spring 4 Kids effort thus far?"

Angi and Misty responded saying their favorite memory was "at the Spring 4 Kids luncheon, seeing everyone so involved around the event."

The two say they will "long remember the atmosphere and all the good energy in the room.  They expressed that "they will keep with them all the caring faces of the IP families and the community."

They went on, "People are willing to donate their time and services toward a great cause. They know how fortunate their children are to go to school and have a hot meal.

But sometimes we forget.

Through Coins4Kids we are able to give just that to the children in Nairobi.

Everyone deserve a chance!"

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International Paper's Own Stained Glass Artisan Has a Passion for Coins 4 Kids

If you have been an active bidder in the Spring 4 Kids online auction, you have seen this man's work and marveled at its beauty.  If you haven't participated in our auction yet, you must be sure to take an extra look at the Art category this year and remember this name, Russell Galli.

Who is Russ?
Russ has been working for IP for the past 34 years.  He began his career in the Franklin, VA paper mill and has worked in four other mills, Corporate Technology and Corporate Supply Chain.

What many of you may not know is that Russ is a talented stained glass artisan who has been donating beautiful pieces to the Spring 4 Kids online auction for the past five years.  He started working with stained glass as a hobby, almost 30 years ago, and has evolved his craft through the years.  Russ likes to challenge himself with more difficult work and has created more than 4000 stained glass pieces!  Many of the pieces are given to family and friends as gifts, and the remainder is donated to charity.  Russ has a real passion for charity work and says that "donating to charities fulfills my desire  to leave this world a better place."

How does he do it?
Russ works out of his home where he has converted space into a stained glass studio and a metal and woodworking shop. The studio contains hundreds of stained glass sheets, a cutting table and a grinding table.  A large lightbox is used for tracing, color matching and precise shaping.  Every stained glass piece begins with a paper pattern cut into individual pieces and takes about 20 different steps to complete.  Russ' wife, Tina, assists with some of the steps in making the items.

A Passion for Coins 4 Kids
The Coins 4 Kids online auction has inspired Russ to learn a new technique every year.  He tries to donate something new and different for each auction.  While he used to donate his work to other charities, now he donates only to Coins 4 Kids.  According to Russ, "IP's signature charity is so well managed, and all the proceeds go to the kids. This compels me to dedicate my time and resources to help make a difference in the lives of as many school kids as I can."

In talking to Russ about his life and his artwork, it's clear he has a passion for producing beautiful and precise pieces, as well as a passion for helping others in need.  I can't wait to see what Russ creates for this year's auction!

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Wow! How Far We've Come!

It is has been amazing to watch how the Coins 4 Kids program and the Spring 4 Kids event activities have grown over the past few years.  I am so lucky to be a part of a very special group of people who believe deeply in this program and are willing to work hard to raise as much money as we can to feed more children in Nairobi.

Lately, I found myself thinking a lot about the evolution of Spring 4 Kids.  What began as a live and silent auction event (with a raffle of wonderful employee-created baskets), has become an online auction with hundreds of auction items from around the globe.  Not only does Spring 4 Kids raise funds through the online auction, it involves fundraising through a basket raffle, jeans day ticket sales and a delicious bake sale held during our annual Lunch on the Lawn event, held at the IP global headquarters in Memphis, TN. The formerly one day event has become a weeklong fundraising effort that includes IP spouses from around the world, working together to feed as many children as possible.

When the auction first went online, I had the pleasure of working with a good friend, Jana Cleves, as co-auction chairs.  Moving from a live event to an online event was a big step for us. However, we believed that we had a great opportunity to reach more people from around IP and outside of IP if we used the online platform.  We had seen many other organizations like ours using online auctions and having success with them.  We realized that more people viewing our items meant more people bidding on our items.

Our solicitation team worked hard from September to February to secure fun and interesting items for the auction.  We were excited to include unique experience items (like 'Shadow Chairman John Faraci for a day') that are still popular auction items today.  We wanted to include a variety of items at many different price levels, so we could appeal to a broad group.

Working together with Sara Whitaker, our IP Communications liaison, we researched and secured an excellent online auction company, Bidding For Good.  Data entry of our auction items went smoothly and our fantastic photographer, Stacey Royalty, made our items look great online.  Our auction ran smoothly and raised over $30,000 to feed hungry children.  It was a great success due to the team effort and participation by IP families!

What is particularly striking about our efforts is that they are almost entirely IP spouse led. With continued support from the IP Foundation and Communications Dept., this event has been allowed to evolve, grow and improve every year.  In 2013, the Spring 4 Kids online auction raised over $150,000! That is simply amazing.

I know Jana and I are so proud of how far Spring 4 Kids has come and we wish this year's team continued success!

Chris

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The Adventures of Rita and Caroline

What do you get when two lovely ladies hit the businesses of Memphis looking for donations for Coins4Kids?  Answer: Lots and lots of donations and a few heart-warming stories.

International Paper spouses Rita Kiser and Caroline Cuevas support Coins4Kids by generously giving their time to solicit items for the annual auction. Along the way they’ve had the privilege of meeting many generous individuals who are happy to support such a great cause.

Recently, Rita and Caroline stopped by a nail salon and were pleasantly surprised not only about the donation they received (two $50 gift cards) but also by the many thanks they received from the owners.   The owners of the business went on to tell them that every morning they pray about how they can help the world become a better place and how grateful they were that Rita and Caroline stopped in to ask for the donation.

The effort of Rita and Caroline and the generosity of the nail salon owners are the perfect combination needed to feed the children in Nairobi. And that’s what it’s all about.

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Making a Difference

When I moved to the United States in 2004, I remember how amazed I was with the people getting personally involved in helping others. This was new to me.

I had been to Africa many times in the past.  I had seen firsthand the difficulties there!

At the end of the same year that I moved here, I was asked to join this new project to feed children in Kenya when they attend school.  It just made sense to me to get involved.

It has been very enriching, and looking back I feel so proud to be part of this wonderful cause that keeps growing every year.

Each time I wonder how will it be possible to make it bigger? And each time all these great IP people come up with new ideas.

We are making a difference in the lives of these children!

Isa is an IP spouse, living in Brussels, Belgium. 

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Auction Item - Flemings

We're so excited about the upcoming Spring For Kids auction in April!  As a preview of what's going to be available, we'll be sharing some information about items on this blog

Who doesn't enjoy an evening out for dinner?  And who doesn't enjoy Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar?   It's the perfect spot for getting together with friends, a special family dinner, or a romantic dinner with someone special.

So for those of you living in the Memphis area, I want to tell you about a great item that will be available on the Spring For Kids online auction!

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar has generously donated a dinner for 6 to Coins For Kids.  The menu will include everything from an appetizer, salad, side dishes, main course, and dessert.  How awesome is that? 

This is a great opportunity and would be a wonderful evening.  So get ready to bid!

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