
EDIT: As of 11/30/2017, 5% of all sales will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
We’re very proud to announce a new partnership and the fulfillment of a goal for us: 5% of all sales will be donated to The Jill’s Wish Foundation. Jill’s Wish helps women who are undergoing breast cancer treatment (either newly diagnosed or terminal) to pay their household bills. Each fulfilled “wish” is a grant of up to $1500 for household bills and living expenses.
We all know someone who has been touched by this disease and how awful it can be – I cannot imagine having to worry about paying rent and utilities in addition to coordinating doctors visits and combating the side effects of treatment. Jill’s Wish looks to help alleviate that burden.
A little history – Jill’s Wish was founded by Jill and Bart Conelly in 2013. Jill was diagnosed with Stage IIIB breast cancer at age 31 and the Conellys had their own financial struggles during her treatment. They started Jill’s Wish to provide assistance to others so that they would not face the same problems at such a difficult time. Instead, this time should be about focusing on being with family, friends, treatment and recovery. Unfortunately, Jill passed away earlier this year and we never had the opportunity to meet her but we want to help her mission live on.
One of the original reasons we started The Strap Saver was to give back. As many of you know, I have a family history of breast cancer, but none of my relatives had to worry about a roof over their head or food on the table as they fought valiantly against this awful disease. I’ve always considered us lucky that we were able to concentrate on more important things.
I’ve been looking for a partner for us for a while and hadn’t found a good fit. I was inspired to look into Jill’s Wish after reading Dana Donofree’s tribute to Jill in February. We met Dana, of AnaOno Intimates, a few months ago and some of the story felt familiar. I also reached out to Dana because I saw her on the Today Show, although it only took one email to get a response – and she invited Beth and myself into her studio. We had a wonderful afternoon and we left feeling inspired. Dana had been through treatment that had changed her body chemistry forever and she was still moving forward with energy, grace and success. She was honest and open with us and it was refreshing in a world where everyone likes to pretend things are perfect. (except me, of course, as you can tell by reading this blog.) Authenticity is rare and beautiful – and it poured off of Dana in waves.
As for why we chose Jill’s Wish – it’s their mission and their method. So much attention is paid to treatment but less to what happens after the women leave the hospital. We think this is an under-served area and probably causes more stress and setbacks than we’ll ever understand.
Even though I trust Dana, I did my own research. I have a responsibility to you – our customer! Charities can be fishy business (we’ve all read about The Wounded Warrior Project) and I wanted to make sure that our money was going to the right place. The requirements for a grant are strict to ensure that they go to those that need it the most. The charity also pays the money directly to the housing lender, utility company/etc so that they know it’s serving the intended purpose.
Business can also be shady when it comes to charitable giving – with unpublicized caps (up to $10,000 and they run the promotion long after they’ve reached their maximum) or offering a percentage of the profits and profits never materialize. We’re going to give 5% of sales. So if you buy a $15 Strap Saver, we’ll donate $.75. If you buy 2 for $25, we’ll donate $1.25. If you buy 100, we’ll donate $50.25. So, buy 100! It’s for a good cause! There’s no limit and no number games. If you have any more questions, just ask. We are going to be completely transparent about this.
If you’re inclined to give more, head over to their website and donate directly or grab one of those awesome Rock What You Got tees (Jill’s favorite saying – I so need one of these). If you shop Amazon, you can contribute a percentage of your purchases without changing your experience by using their Amazon Smile page. We’ll have some updates on Jill’s Wish and all of the good things that they’ll do in the coming year – thank you for supporting us so that we can support them.
We hope that you approve of our choice – let us know!