Volcom, In Partnership With National Coalition For The Homeless, Prepares To Launch Jeans Recycling Program For 2010

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) COSTA MESA, CA – July 13, 2010– Volcom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM), the youth clothing innovator, is giving your jeans a chance again in 2010. 

In 2009 more than 5,000 pairs of jeans were collected by 100 North American stores featuring Volcom product and then donated to fifty local homeless shelters across the country. This year Volcom is hoping to collect upwards of 10,000 pairs from more than 300 participating stores around the world. 

In August, each of the participating retailers will set up a Denim Recycle Bin in their store where do-gooders can bring in a used pair of jeans in good, wearable condition to contribute to the drive. Anyone who donates a pair of jeans at any one of the participating stores will receive either a Give Jeans a Chance hat, sticker or button. Additionally, every participant automatically gets entered for a chance to win a year supply of Volcom Brand Jeans (VBJ), a $1,000 Volcom prize pack or one of the 50 VBJ runner up prize packages being offered.  
 
Regarding last year’s campaign, Neil Donovan, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless said, “Volcom’s Give Jeans a Chance (GJAC) is inspiring thousands to make a single donation and it’s having a huge impact in the lives of so many homeless people.”  
 
So that fans can show their support, Volcom is offering a Give Jeans a Chance t-shirt, which will be available at most participating retailers in early August (see attached image). As part of the Volcom Give Back Series, part of the proceeds from the shirt will be donated to the National Coalition for the Homeless in support of their quest to end homelessness.
 
“Last year’s drive proved to be rewarding to all involved,” said Derek Sabori, Volcom’s Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. “You see the photos and people are just stoked… Stoked to give back.”
 
Floris Gierman, Volcom’s Director of Retail Marketing is heading up the program and agrees, “Putting on clean, dry jeans in the morning is something that most of us take for granted. It’s easy to forget the tremendous number of homeless people living in the US who cannot enjoy the same simple privilege. We could not be more excited about Give Jeans a Chance returning for its second year. With the continued support of shops and homeless shelters we hope to reach our goal of raising 10,000 pairs to keep those in need warm this winter.”
 
For more info about Give Jeans a Chance and for updates on the drive, check www.volcom.com/givejeansachance.
 
For additional info, please contact
 
Floris Gierman
 
Phone: 949-646-2175
 
fgierman@volcom.com
 
About Volcom, Inc.
 
Volcom is an innovative designer, marketer and distributor of premium quality young men’s and women’s clothing, accessories and related products. The Volcom brand, symbolized by The Stone, is athlete-driven, creative and forward thinking.   Volcom has consistently followed its motto of “youth against establishment,” and the brand is inspired by the energy of youth culture. Volcom branded products are sold throughout the United States and internationally. Volcom’s news announcements and SEC filings are available through the company’s website at www.volcom.com.
 
About the Volcom Give Back Series
 
Created in 2008, the Volcom Give Back Series (VGBS), is a program where a percentage of proceeds from select styles go directly to community-based non-profits. The company has supported charities and organizations including the National Coalition for the Homeless, TACA (Talk About Curing Autism), Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii, and Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC).

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Quite the feat: CRMS students send 500 pairs of used shoes to needy souls around the world

Post Independent (John Stroud) Glenwood Springs, CO – CARBONDALE, Colorado — Friends and fellow Colorado Rocky Mountain School juniors Kelsey Bohannon and JJ Worley recently found a way to help needy people around the world, and keep what otherwise would be trash out of area landfills.

Through the Soles4Souls shoe charity, they collected some 500 pairs of used shoes from throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. The shoes will be sent to a warehouse in Nevada, and eventually shipped to villages around the world where people cannot afford to buy shoes themselves.

“I heard about it and it just interested me as a way for people do something for those in need without sending money,” said Bohannon, 16, who lives in Glenwood Springs.

“Some people don’t like giving money, because they’re not sure what’s really going to happen to it,” she said. “There’s not much else you can do with used shoes, though. You know someone is going to be wearing them who needs them.”

Worley, also 16, from Carbondale, looks at it as a “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” sort of approach to global charity.

“People really do get tired of donating money. This is a way to get rid of something you’d be throwing away anyway, and for a good cause,” she said.

Bohannon and Worley put up flyers around the valley and set up collection boxes at Summit Canyon Mountaineering in Glenwood Springs and at Dos Gringos Burritos in Carbondale.

“They asked me to come empty the box at Summit because it was overflowing,” Bohannon said. “The shoes filled up my car.”

Once they collected all the shoes they realized it would cost $230 to ship them to Nevada, even after the 80 percent charity discount from UPS. So they approached the Aspen Skiing Company, and it covered the shipping cost.

“We didn’t even think about the money part of it,” Worley said. “We really want to thank the Skico for helping us out.”

They received some interesting shoes along the way, including some Go-Go boots, a pair of snowboard boots, and ballet slippers.

“Some of them are pretty fancy shoes, and not very used at all,” Bohannon said.

Miser’s Mercantile, a local second-hand store, also donated some of the shoes it had in stock, and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary collected a box of shoes as well.

The students may do another drive in the future, but their collection efforts are done for now. However, Independence Run and Hike, a local running and outdoor gear store, is also a collection location for Soles4Souls.

The store, located in the Gateway Plaza at Highway 133 and Cowen Drive in Carbondale, is collecting “gently worn” footwear and/or monetary donations to help ship the shoes.

The shoes sometimes go to victims of a natural disaster, or who are subject to living in extreme poverty, according to the organization’s website, www.giveshoes.org.

“It is estimated that Americans have 1.5 billion pairs of unused shoes lying in their closets,” it notes. “The charity can use each and every one of these pairs to make a tangible difference in someone’s life.”

Independence Run and Hike owner Brion After said he is glad to contribute, both in the charitable sense and because of the reduced environmental impact of recycling used shoes.

“We believe in taking care of the land that takes care of us,” he said. “Partnering with Soles4Souls enables the local running and hiking community to be environmental stewards and assist those in need throughout the world.”  jstroud@postindependent.com

For more information on Colorado Rocky Mountain School please contact lraleigh@crms.org

via 3blmedia.com

 

New Online Fruit Gift Gives Twice to Help Fight Hunger

Launched today, naumesfruitgifts.com is a new, socially responsible gift giving solution that delivers delicious pear gift boxes to family and friends, and a matching donation of fresh fruit to food banks that feed hungry families.

The first of its kind, the Donate Fruit program provides a new way to give and represents a growing demand nationwide for quality gifts that give back.

“Sharing a gift that has also made an important difference in the life of another makes it even more special,” said Laura Naumes, Vice President of Naumes. “Our signature fruit gift box lets gift recipients know that their premium fruit gift has been matched pound for pound with a donation to those in need.”

Addressing hunger in America is especially critical in today’s economic climate, in which one in eight Americans are affected. Fresh and nutritious fruit is a vital component of food donated to hungry families who too often rely on processed foods that can lead to obesity and other health problems.

Naumes Inc. is one of the largest family owned and operated pear growers in the world and has been donating fresh fruit for generations. They have been the major pear grower working with Feeding America, donating almost 10 million pounds of pears and reaching people in need across the country over the past seven years.

The launch of naumesfruitgifts.com today allows the family to offer its premium fruit directly to consumers for the first time and to expand their charitable contributions.

“We take great pride in offering a quality and nutritious gift option that our customers can feel good about,” said Mike Naumes, President of Naumes, Inc. “We lost our first orchard in the Great Depression so we understand firsthand the importance of doing our part to help others in need.”

Naumes handpicked gourmet pears are available in a variety of gift boxes and are available online. They cost $29.95 and standard shipping is free.

The service is available to anyone in the U.S. at naumesfruitgifts.com. Business customers may also call TOLL FREE at 1-877-740-PEAR (7327).

via 3blmedia.com

CSR Minute: October 12, 2009 – Milk-Bone’s Good to Give Campaign; Fenton’s New NYC Managing Director; Nubius Organic’s Site

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More Bad News About Nonprofit $$: More About Building Better Boards to Fix This

Alice Korngold, contributing writer for Fast Company Magazine and President and CEO of Korngold Consulting, asserts in her most recent commentary that the current economic instability isn’t only affecting communities, both urban and suburban, but now is making destitute of  Non-Profit Corporations as they scramble for needed resources to help keep the unemployed, families, and the retired afloat.

A new report by the National Council of Nonprofits provides more data about the nonprofit financial crisis, showing sharp declines from all sources, including government, corporations, foundations, and individuals, and fees for services faltering as well. Worst of all, these funding challenges occur just when communities are in greater need of nonprofit services, as people are losing jobs, homes, healthcare benefits, and credit, and various public services, including education, are being cut.Nonprofit boards have the authority, power, and legal and fiduciary responsibility to create solutions, in partnership with the nonprofit CEOs that they hire. How can nonprofit boards improve themselves to face their difficult but essential challenges of serving our communities? Of course, in order to build and achieve a successful future, a board needs to build itself with the right people–a topic I have addressed previously.

Some of the best board members I have placed or worked with have been key revenue problem-solvers. For example, the global pricing strategist for a major consulting firm pulled a nonprofit (the local chapter of a national blood services organization) out of the red by helping them revise their pricing strategy, thereby shifting the organization into financial health.

Here are additional ways that board members play vital roles….

This commentary piece was written by Alice Korngold