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Quilts for Kids: A Pattern of Successful Fundraising with eBay Giving Works
- In 2000, Linda Arye, an interior designer, went into a fabric store and saw a heap of bags filled with discontinued fabric that was destined for the landfill. Thinking the fabric could somehow be put to good use, she asked the store owner if she could take the bags home with her.
- Linda recounts, “He said ‘go for it.’ I wasn’t sure what I’d do with all that material, but on the ride home it hit me.” She thought back to how her own daughter had been denied her favorite teddy bear during several prolonged hospital stays because the nurses were worried it contained too many allergens. Then and there, Linda decided the fabric should be used to make washable quilts for children going through difficult times.
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Fabric of Hope
- Today Quilts for Kids receives discontinued fabrics and samples from various manufacturers and stores. With this material, a network of volunteers in 29 states and the Caribbean sews quilts for sick and abused children. In just seven years, over 40,000 quilts have been made and distributed to children in hospitals, shelters, and orphanages. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, 2,000 quilts were sent to evacuees at the Houston Astrodome. Linda is also proud that her organization is green--they have saved over 1.5 million lbs. of fabric from landfills.
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Simple Tactic, Material Results
- When they receive fabric that is not appropriate for a child's quilt,it is sold with eBay Giving Works to help raise funds so that pre-cut quilt kits can be sent to volunteers and quilts shipped to children in need. To date, they’ve sold a variety of materials from mohair to leather to raise funds.
- She has a simple tactic to convey that the listing will benefit a charity, “When buyers get to our description we say that 100% of the Final Sale Price goes to a charity. We say that over and over. When they win, we say ‘Thanks for winning and for supporting our charity.’ Hopefully every time they look at the fabric they won, that person will think of us.”
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Quality Outreach
- Quilts for Kids has not only raised funds with eBay Giving Works, but has also made strong friendships with several buyers. “One buyer asked me if I could hold her order because her son was going to a children’s hospital in Philadelphia,” Linda says. “Her grandson was in the oncology unit and I sent him a quilt. You never know who you are going to touch or who will touch you as a result of eBay.”