Giving Back

The parents and children living with Type 1 diabetes are the most important consideration of this endeavour. They have always been the underlying reason for going down this road.

The Lapel Stick partners and associates have a vested interest in helping find a cure – several of them have children with Type 1 diabetes. It was an easy decision that thirty cents per tube be automatically donated to JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). We are also encouraging the participating retailers to match funds for this donation.

The response has been very positive and supportive. The partners wished to provide the families of Type One Diabetes with a product to help in fundraising efforts for the JDRF. There was no single product the families were able to look at that would allow them to help find a cure. For five years, we listened to the parents and volunteers ask what they could do to help. It was apparent that ninety five percent of the families were not able to donate cash directly.

We have now provided a solution with our Lapel Stick initiative. We have realized that all fundraising avenues — soccer, hockey, school districts and other charities — were going through a massive shift. Traditional products, such as chocolates, cookies and confections were being mandated as unhealthy and therefore, restricted.

British Columbia became one of the first provinces to ban the sale of those types of products in schools. For health considerations, chocolates and sweets are no longer a socially acceptable solution when other options became available. Lapel Stick is now moving to the forefront of the fundraising world.

The most encouraging aspect to our fundraising solution is that the financial return is much greater than the traditional products. We were surprised to find out how little money was raised with chocolates and sweets. Coupon books have been a popular fundraising item for many years but have quickly become a thing of the past in this economic downturn. The price point of $25 - $50 becomes very prohibitive for most people but five dollars for a product that is practical and can be reused many times, is an easy and ‘feel good’ purchase.