Brightside Boutique in The Shops at Highland Village recently presented a $3,000 donation to Minnie’s Food Pantry/The Giving Movement as part of Brighton’s Feed Our Friends fundraiser. The Brightside Boutique was among retailers across the United States that joined with Brighton last summer in selling a limited-edition collection of semi-previous jewelry designed especially to help feed struggling Americans.
“To help us decide where to direct our donations, we asked retailers who participated in the fundraiser to nominate their American Heroes—people in the community who lead tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that are feeding people,” said Laura Young, president of sales and marketing for Brighton, a Los Angeles-based maker of fine ladies accessories. “We selected The Giving Movement from among hundreds of entries that we received because of the passion that Brightside Boutique and the store’s customers showed for the work their ‘hero’ does in the community.”
The Giving Movement is a 501(c)(3) charity organization based in Plano that educates and fosters charitable giving and philanthropy in schools and in the community. Its mission is simple—end hunger in our community through Minnie’s Food Pantry. The organization is committed to serving the needs of children and their families that live in impoverished areas and who rely on assistance for something as simple as their next meal. Founder, Cheryl Jackson, can be seen weekly on Good Morning Texas on WFAA, Channel 8, where she urges people to use their life to make a difference and raises awareness about hunger in our world. At the presentation, Jackson explained, “We are so grateful to Brightside Boutique for nominating us for this honor. This donation of $3,000 can feed 600 families for a week. On average, we feed 2,000 people per month, and we can do so much more with this donation through our partnership with North Texas Food Bank.” More information can be found at www.thegivingmovement.org.
Ann Wolf, owner of Brightside Boutique, was overwhelmed when notified that Brightside’s nomination won. “One of the things that I love about Brighton is that the owner, Jerry Kohl, has a true heart for missions and believes that it is his responsibility to give back. What a wonderful honor and opportunity to have our nominated charity selected!” In addition to the $3,000 from Brighton, customers of Brightside Boutique donated an additional $300 when they heard that Minnie’s Food Pantry/The Giving Movement was selected!
Donating by design is a continuing tradition at Brighton, where founder and owner Jerry Kohl and his team of designers have created jewelry collections that have raised over $3 million for breast cancer charities and over $1 million to fight women’s heart disease. With the American Heroes collection, they focused their creative efforts on the growing number of people going hungry due to the economy.“We all have people in our lives that we’re concerned about, so I decided to find a way we can make a difference in their lives,” Kohl said. “That’s how the American Heroes jewelry and additional Feed Our Friends programs came about.”
Brightside Boutique is located at 1400 Shoal Creek in The Shops at Highland Village. For more information, call 972-317-5494 or visit www.brightsideboutique.net.
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