I'm at a conference for work this weekend discussing veterinary management topics. The presentation today was about going green in our practices (which is awesome). In addition to veterinary specific ideas, I heard of a few good resources that everyone can use in their daily lives. Check them out!
www.ecobusinesslinks.com
Find businesses that sell eco-friendly products - broken down by product type.
www.cdrecyclingcenter.com
Load your CDs onto you iTunes then send your discs in for recycling.
www.myfootprint.org
Fill out your profile and then find ways to reduce your footprint in ways that really make a difference.
www.earth911.com
Find places near you that recycle specific items (batteries, certain plastics #'s, electronics...)
Call it a fad, but the more people become aware of and use these green options, the more available and cost-effective they will become. Free trade is a powerful system - let's use it to the earth's advantage!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Brides Against Breast Cancer
Link: http://www.makingmemories.org/
Last month, my fellow book-clubbers (Lauren and Kat - also my two faithful blog followers - thanks guys!) were nice enough to accompany me to try on dresses in Santee, SC. The general consensus when I announced my plan to just about anyone was, "Have you ever been to Santee?" Why would I leave the #2 wedding destination in the United Sates (Charleston) to dress shop in Santee? The answer is simple: to look through the thousands of dresses at the Brides Against Breast Cancer (BABC) warehouse.
BABC is a division of the Making Memories foundation - a not-for-profit charity that uses proceeds to grant last wishes to terminal breast cancer patients and to educate young women on breast cancer prevention and early detection. All the dresses in their warehouse have been donated and are then resold for this charity. Even after I explained all this, most people were concerned that I was going to be wearing a "used" dress. This, however, was what made the purchase that much more exciting!
I went to a few bridal stores in Indianapolis with my mom when I was home over Thanksgiving. The experience was nice and I even found a dress that I really liked. This dress, however, had a hefty price tag of $2,300 and the thought of having a brand new dress bleached and assembled in China and shipped across the world just for me to wear for a few hours made me sick. My roommate had already told me about BABC and I was putting a lot of weight on finding "the" dress there.
When we arrived, we were a bit overwhelmed with the racks and RACKS of choices available. They were organized by size and split into halves: couture and regular. Compared to my $2,300 current option - prices weren't my limiting factor (all dresses were discounted 40-70% AND tax free) - fit was. After the 50+ dresses I tried on in Indy, it became pretty apparent that finding a non-strapless dress that did not look hideous on me was going to be a challenge. Kat, who was also dress shopping, is thin and petite and beautiful and not difficult at all to find a dress in which she looks great. She, however, was trying not to break the bank with her purchase. I'm happy to report - we both fulfilled our missions!
Barbara, the lady who helped us pick out dresses and owner of the store, was pretty much awesome. She is a New Yorker to the core. The type who tells YOU what to do - not the other way around. She is unabashedly direct and totally knows what she is doing. Not to mention she has a heart of gold. She left her job at Brides in NYC to work in the charitable side of the industry in honor of her mother who is a double mastectomy survivor. She goes above and beyond to make a bride's day when choosing her dress. For Kat, she dropped the price of the gown she fell in love with to make it fit in the budget. For me, she met my parents and me in Greenville, SC while setting up for a show so that my mom could give the final approval.
I'm going refrain to from posting a picture of my dress or even describing it to avoid "accidental" sightings by Adam. I can say, however, that I love it and feel great to have yet another big decision checked off my list!
If you want to get in the action, not only can you support this charity by buying a wedding gown, veil, shoes, accessories, brides maids dresses, prom dresses, mother-of-the-bride dresses....you can also donate all of the above to BABC. The link to their site is at the top of this post. As a kickback - the donation is tax deductable. I plan to box up my dress shortly after the festivities and give it right back. Maybe it could be "the" dress for someone else as well.
Last month, my fellow book-clubbers (Lauren and Kat - also my two faithful blog followers - thanks guys!) were nice enough to accompany me to try on dresses in Santee, SC. The general consensus when I announced my plan to just about anyone was, "Have you ever been to Santee?" Why would I leave the #2 wedding destination in the United Sates (Charleston) to dress shop in Santee? The answer is simple: to look through the thousands of dresses at the Brides Against Breast Cancer (BABC) warehouse.
BABC is a division of the Making Memories foundation - a not-for-profit charity that uses proceeds to grant last wishes to terminal breast cancer patients and to educate young women on breast cancer prevention and early detection. All the dresses in their warehouse have been donated and are then resold for this charity. Even after I explained all this, most people were concerned that I was going to be wearing a "used" dress. This, however, was what made the purchase that much more exciting!
I went to a few bridal stores in Indianapolis with my mom when I was home over Thanksgiving. The experience was nice and I even found a dress that I really liked. This dress, however, had a hefty price tag of $2,300 and the thought of having a brand new dress bleached and assembled in China and shipped across the world just for me to wear for a few hours made me sick. My roommate had already told me about BABC and I was putting a lot of weight on finding "the" dress there.
When we arrived, we were a bit overwhelmed with the racks and RACKS of choices available. They were organized by size and split into halves: couture and regular. Compared to my $2,300 current option - prices weren't my limiting factor (all dresses were discounted 40-70% AND tax free) - fit was. After the 50+ dresses I tried on in Indy, it became pretty apparent that finding a non-strapless dress that did not look hideous on me was going to be a challenge. Kat, who was also dress shopping, is thin and petite and beautiful and not difficult at all to find a dress in which she looks great. She, however, was trying not to break the bank with her purchase. I'm happy to report - we both fulfilled our missions!
Barbara, the lady who helped us pick out dresses and owner of the store, was pretty much awesome. She is a New Yorker to the core. The type who tells YOU what to do - not the other way around. She is unabashedly direct and totally knows what she is doing. Not to mention she has a heart of gold. She left her job at Brides in NYC to work in the charitable side of the industry in honor of her mother who is a double mastectomy survivor. She goes above and beyond to make a bride's day when choosing her dress. For Kat, she dropped the price of the gown she fell in love with to make it fit in the budget. For me, she met my parents and me in Greenville, SC while setting up for a show so that my mom could give the final approval.
I'm going refrain to from posting a picture of my dress or even describing it to avoid "accidental" sightings by Adam. I can say, however, that I love it and feel great to have yet another big decision checked off my list!
If you want to get in the action, not only can you support this charity by buying a wedding gown, veil, shoes, accessories, brides maids dresses, prom dresses, mother-of-the-bride dresses....you can also donate all of the above to BABC. The link to their site is at the top of this post. As a kickback - the donation is tax deductable. I plan to box up my dress shortly after the festivities and give it right back. Maybe it could be "the" dress for someone else as well.
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