On May 19, 2007 Make-A-Wish Minnesota held their annual Wish Ball.  Wish Ball is one of the largest fundraisers in the area and raised over $500,000 with 800 people in attendance. The evening included a sit down dinner, live and silent auction, dancing and a poker tournament.  The amount raised this year was a 250% increase from the year before. The generosity from this event will allow MAW to grant over 80 wishes to very sick and terminally ill children.

Ben Bridge donated three beautiful jewelry pieces for a raffle. Associates from all three local Ben Bridge stores participated. Our raffle generated over $11,000. Each person that purchased a raffle ticket ($100 each) received a gift bag from Ben Bridge. Each bag contained small goodies and a gift certificate for a discount on future purchases.  At the end of the evening the prizes were drawn by a past Wish recipient. The raffle was a huge success.

The event was a very worthwhile partnership between Ben Bridge and Make-A- Wish. Because Minnesota is a new market for us this was a great opportunity for our associates to network with over 800 potential customers. Within a few days of the event, several gift certificates had already been redeemed. Thank you to all the associates that participated and Sue for taking charge and putting everything together.

On Saturday June 9, a seven member team from the corporate office participated in the 2007 Seattle Works Day.  Seattle Works is a non profit group that attempts to get working professionals in their 20’s and 30’s actively involved in the community through volunteer work, leadership trainings, and connecting with other community minded 20 and 30 something’s to learn about issues affecting the Seattle area. 

The project this year was to help clear ivy at the Kobe Terrace Park located in the International District.  The team’s efforts will make it possible for the parks department to build a pathway for the senior citizens who live in the neighborhood to enjoy the amenities of the park which include a 200 year old Yukimidoro stone lantern given by the people of Seattle’s sister city Kobe, Japan.  Though it rained almost the entire time, the team consisting of Leighton Ebert, Liz Jones, Nick Vermeer, Maria Papasedero, Erika Matson, Meghan Bartholomew, and Luke Sohn worked tremendously hard despite the wet conditions. 

     

For more information about Seattle Works visit www.seattleworks.org

Ben Bridge participates in Pigs on Parade in Seattle, June 2007.

It all started with a dress down* day at Ben Bridge corporate offices. That day the team at corporate raised over $200, but that was just the beginning of a beautiful partnership between Ben Bridge Jeweler and the YWCA. Angeline’s (part of YWCA) is a center of transition for many women who are trying to better their lives. At Angeline’s they can enjoy meals, hot showers, laundry facilities, basic health screenings and for some, overnight accommodations. Through other YWCA programs, women also receive help in finding employment and obtaining permanent residence.

Ben Bridge has been privileged to participate in a number of different ways to help women and families served by the YWCA. In addition to the dress down days, they gathered coffee mugs and towels for the women of Angeline’s. Through the Dress for Success program, they donated business attire for women seeking employment. In April, nearly twenty associates attended the YWCA luncheon. Several other associates donated their time on the YWCA’s “Day of Caring” at Angeline’s. In 2006, they were part of a group of 770 people who volunteered 7,679 hours of service.

As you can see, just one day of caring has turned into many days of caring. Thank you to all of the employees at the corporate office who give so generously of their time and means to help those at the YWCA.

* A dress down day occurs each Friday when a different charity is chosen and the associates at the corporate office pay a minimum of $3 for the privilege of wearing jeans at work that day. All money donated goes to the charity of the week.

Every Friday at the corporate office, associates have the opportunity to dress down for $3.00. Proceeds from the dress down benefit a variety of non-profit organizations. Any associate can sponsor an organization of their choice but the organization must be a certified non-profit. On January 11th the dress down benefited Horowitz Trading West, a shop located in lower Queen Anne where proceeds go to support the public schools in the community. Below is a letter written to us by Sam Horowitz, son of the shop’s owner (Jane Horowitz) and fellow corporate office associate.

Dear Ben Bridge Family,
I think it is so cool that you are having a dress-down day to help my Mom’s shop!!! She needs all the help she can get. Actually, in the shop she gets a lot of help from people who come to volunteer. They come in looking for something they need or want or collect and somehow they end up being part of her volunteer family. It can be pretty fun to be there. They come from a lot of different countries or from next door and they are of every age. I think the Magic happens because my Mom asks you to pay what your heart or head tells you and the money pays for programs in the local public schools. It is not skillions of dollars but every little bit matters. (My mom is very involved in the schools and that is another story.) Some people who have money--she calls it “discretionary income”-- come in and that’s great but sometimes the right answer to that heart and head question is,” (I have) no dollars and no cents” and her friends who sell Real Change for example can get blankets, socks, hats and jackets when it is damp and cold outside for that price. I get to see this and other kids do too. It all feels weird sometimes, but I also know I’m watching something pretty important.--Not to mention all the stuff we keep out of the landfill by repurposing and recycling. Geez.

A couple important people have told her that her shop “Should be a template for every community.” I’m not sure what that means but it made my mom really smile on a day she was really tired.

In December she got a new landlord who is a big developer... You can imagine what that means....

My mom needs your help in keeping her vision alive!!!

Sincerely,
Sam Horowitz, Age: 13--for nine more days....

Our Parkway Plaza store in El Cajon, CA was pleased to help grant a wish, in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to 8 year-old Darian.

The 7th Annual Kids Co. Benefit Breakfast was held on March 13, 2008. The benefit was to raise money for Kids Co., which operates eight high quality child care programs on-site at Seattle-area elementary schools. Closing remarks were given by Jon Bridge, Kids Co. Board Vice-Chairman.

In 2008, a $5,000 donation was given to the American Heart Association by Ben Bridge Jeweler. The donated amount was a portion of the proceeds from the sale of our Toscano 18K gold and Murano glass heart pendant (shown below). Also pictured is Vetra Davis (American Heart Association) and our own, Jon Bridge.

Josephine Leu, manager of our University Towne Center, San Diego store displays a Baume & Mercier watch and Chopard Necklace that were donated to the We Chinese in America 2008 banquet. The drawing winner had their choice of the two. Picture is from the May 2008 We Chinese in America magazine.

On October 12, 2008, Ben Bridge corporate office employees joined in the United Way Day of Caring. The United Way gathered more than 8,600 volunteers that day to tackle 417 community projects. Ben Bridge was pleased to have volunteers work on two different projects. The first was at YWCA Angeline’s Center for Homeless Women. Volunteers presented a much needed day of leisure for the residents including Karaoke and Bingo. The second group volunteered with Kids Co. They served at a local elementary school hauling dirt for a new playground and painting.

October 2007 - Rey & Charlene of our store in Thousand Oaks, CA joined with their friends and the American Cancer Society in the Relay for Life. During the event, teams of up to 12 people walk the track around a football field for 24 hours. The teams raise money by collecting donations and pledges. We are proud to have participated in such a great event.