Causes Sprouts Believes in: Seagull Industries
Posted by Kelly
Seagull Industries for the Disabled, Inc is a private, non-profit social service agency serving developmentally challenged children and adults in Palm Beach County, Florida for 30 years. We have worked closely with Seagull Industries on many projects and are always pleased with their work and are proud of the way they produce it. They are a great aid to the community and we are pleased to be involved with their efforts.
“Our mission is to facilitate improvement in the quality of life of the individuals we serve through advocacy and the provision of a variety of educational, social, vocational, and residential programs designed to encourage achievement, self-reliance, and economic independence.”
Since 1979 Seagull Industries for the Disabled has served mentally retarded and developmentally challenged individuals in Palm Beach County, Florida. A private non-profit social service agency, Seagull gives hope through advocacy and a variety of educational, social, vocational and residential programs. These programs are designed to encourage self-reliance, achievement and economic independence for the individuals involved in their programs. They preform many services and help businesses across many industries including bulk mailing and packaging as well as other services. Contact Herb Semel, Director of Business Development to get started with Seagull Industries today. And visit their website to learn more about Seagull Industries for the Disabled here.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center Turtle Release
Posted by Kelly
This past month the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach released Cullen, a huge adult male Loggerhead sea turtle. Cullen came to the Center on January 29, 2009 from The St. Lucie Power Plant in what the center described as “fair body condition with low range of motion and sensitivity in the front left flipper.” There was a sloughing of skin, suggesting a previous injury and was believed that Cullen may have met with some monofilament at some point and became entangled. It is suspected that he was found tangled, and someone cut the line in his aid. Unfortunately, he needed more than just release from the line. The Center stresses the importance of reporting all sightings of turtles in distress to the proper authorities. Cullen’s diagnosis included blood work and testing provided evidence of severe anemia and mild hypoglycemia. His treatment included antibiotics, vitamins, de-worming, a nutritious diet and physical therapy.
Cullen had been treated by the Marinelife Center for the past few months and was released on July 11, 2009. During his treatment his injured left flipper was amputated. For this he received extensive physical therapy and antibiotics. When he was brought in he was at 195.14 lbs. Upon his release, he was at just over 200 lbs.
Cullen was released under perfect conditions today. The weather cooperated, the seas were mild, Cullen was calm and the volunteers were awesome !!!
A big congratulations goes out to the team and volunteers at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. We are proud of what you do and very honored to have you here working on behalf of the marine life in South Florida. We wish Cullen good luck and know he will get along just swimingly!
Looking for ways you can help?
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open to the public and is located in Juno Beach. Admission is free, but donations are always accepted and appreciated. To learn more about the center or find out about volunteer opportunities, visit their site here. You can even adopt your very own sea turtle and watch his progress as he receives treatment from the Center.
Sprouts! also includes a line of eco-friendly plantable sea turtle cards that features sea turtles from the Center. With each box purchased, Sprouts! will donate part of the proceeds back to The Loggerhead Marinelife Center to support their efforts. See those cards here.
To learn more about Cullen and see images from his release, click here.
Letters of Congratulations
Posted by Kelly
Last week we received two very prestigious letters of congratulations that we are proud to share with you. In winning the Small Business of the Year award from the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce we were honored to accept praise and congratulations from many people and companies that we’ve partnered with. With this came two fantastic letters from State Representative Carl J. Domino and Senator Mel Martinez. You can view both of the letters, along with other Sprouts news here. A big thank you to both of these gentlemen for taking the time to write us and bigger thank you to all of our supporters that we are so lucky to have.
Causes Sprouts Believes in: Wheels for Kids
Posted by Kelly
One of the great charities that we work with here at Sprouts is Wheels for Kids. It is local to Palm Beach County and we are happy to promote all the great things they are doing for local kids with disabilities.
Wheels for Kids is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2003 by Denise Jungbert in honor of her daughter, Ashlee, who has Cerebral Palsy (CP). The organization was originally established to provide wheelchairs to handicapped children afflicted with CP living in Palm Beach County who are financially unable to purchase them on their own and who do not qualify for public funding or other charitable sources. Currently Wheels for Kids is accepting applications for any child living in Palm Beach County with a long term disability that will benefit from the aid of a customized or stock mobility device. Wheels for Kids was created in the belief that working parents should not have to give up their livelihoods to give their child the most healthy and independent life possible.
“We were told by the doctors that Ashlee would go from a crib, to a bed, to a nursing home and that would be her life. We refused to accept this, and vigorously championed her therapies. Ashlee has now had four wheelchairs totaling $36,000. Her current custom-made electric wheelchair cost $24,000 and most recently needed the seating refurbished at a cost of $3500.” Denise said of her situation.
You can read more about Denise and Ashlee and see pictures at wheelsforkids.org.
July Newsletter
Posted by Kelly
The July newsletter is out now! For those of you who follow us regularly (we send a newsletter out once a month) you might notice some changes. We have done some re-vamping and are very proud to introduce Sprouts Green Gossip! Each month we will feature articles and tips centering around sustainability, recycling and the environment as well as what’s going on here at Sprouts. Make sure you sign up here and get in on all the good gossip!
Sprouts Favorite Products: Pacifica
Posted by Kelly
It is always our pleasure to spotlight great companies that are making a point to create environmentally friendly products and do so using green practices. We get so excited when we find others that make preserving the environment a part of their mission statement. And on that note, we are thrilled to talk about the Pacifica fragrance collection.
The company describes themselves and their scents as “Modern, inspired, joyful. Irresistible and imaginative fragrance. Lush, sumptuous products. Quality natural ingredients. Vibrant color. Rich, globally inspired pattern. Dreamy, transportive indulgence. Responsible practices. Affordable luxury.”
Since 1996 Brook Harvey-Taylor and Billy Taylor, Pacifica’s founders, have been building on a brand that is known for their most deeply held values: their concern for the health of people and the planet as well as fairness, safety, sustainability and anti-cruelty.
What makes this company stand out to us?
Pacifica products are made using the finest, consumer-safe and sustainable raw materials, including natural ingredients and essential oils. Pacifica products are free of parabens, propylene glycol, phthalates and lead wicks. Pacifica packaging is both recyclable and made with recycled content and the company reuses and reduces wherever possible, regularly reevaluating processes to maximize this effort. Pacifica is working towards carbon neutrality and is 100% committed to cruelty-freedom. The company does not use any animal ingredients, including beeswax, and does not test its formulations on animals or use ingredients that are currently tested on animals, making their products vegan-friendly.
To learn more about Pacifica, check out their website at www.pacificaperfume.com.
Causes Sprouts Believes in: Publix’s Eco-Friendly Approach
Posted by Kelly
Hat’s off to Publix, a Florida based Fortune 500 Company taking an eco-friendly approach! Publix offers in-store recycling of paper and plastic bags at all of our retail locations. Not only can customers drop off any brand plastic shopping bag for recycling, they can recycle plastic sleeves from dry cleaning and newspapers. Click here for Publix’s tips on recycling and sustainability.
In other efforts, Publix Super Markets in conjunction with local newspapers and their Newspapers in Education (NIE) curriculum helped to reach over 17,900 public and private school teachers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee and teach students timely information on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices.
The Publix Sustainability program culminated with the students participating in an art contest to Design-A-Bag. Students were encouraged to creatively apply what they had learned in the classroom and submit their artwork. The winning design would be used on a reusable bag exclusively provided to all sixth grade educators who participated in the program. To read more about the Publix Design-a-Bag Contest, click here.
Causes Sprouts Believes in: Office Depot Foundation donates its 2 Millionth Backpack
Posted by Kelly
Can you believe the Office Depot Foundation is donating their 2 millionth backpack this year? By donating great-looking new backpacks containing essential school supplies to deserving children all across the United States, Canada and beyond, the Office Depot Foundation is giving them invaluable tools they can use to succeed in the classroom. Since 2001, the Office Depot Foundation National Backpack Program has been giving backpacks to children to help them boost their self-esteem, build their self-confidence and do better in school. In fact, they have been characterized as “a symbol of hope.”
This year, the Foundation will donate its 2 millionth backpack to a deserving child. The backpacks are colorful and sturdy - and each one contains a pencil pouch with essential school supplies.
Sprouts believes in and supports the Office Depot Foundation and its Mission to Listen, Learn, Care.
Click here to read more about the National Backpack program and the Office Depot Foundation.
Do you know of any other corporations or foundations that are making a positive impact in your community? Let us know!
Green Marketing: More than Just a Trend, Green Marketing Works
Posted by Kelly
What can Green Marketing campaigns do for your business? Besides the environmental impact and clean conscience, it just makes good business sense. More and more marketers are making an effort to give their companies a greener image in order to capture consumers. People are concerned about the environment and want the products they buy to reverberate that message. Market research reflects this: what started as a trendy buzzword in 2007 and 2008, has shown proven results and continues to gain momentum in 2009. But don’t just take our word for it. See what others are saying:
All About Business: “Advertising and Marketing Trends in 2009″
Great article discussing this years’ marketing trends points to green marketing as it continues to grow in 2009.
MarketingCollege.blogspot.com: “Marketing Trends: Green Marketing”
“The spoils earned by the providers who commit now to a greener earth will be the chance for increased sales and profits. The market is ready for this message. Go green or watch your business turn black and go up in smoke.”
MarketingCharts.com: “Marketing Executives Identify Top Marketing Trends, Concepts in 2008″
This article recognizes green marketing as an important emerging concept, and identifies it as “the trendiest marketing buzzword” for last year.
SearchInfluence.com: “Tweet and Grow Rich-Identify and Amplify Your Ideal Followers”
While this article doesn’t focus so much on “green” marketing, it is worth pointing out that Social Networking is not only a trendy buzz word, it is a low cost (the only real investment here is time) and a paper-free way to advertise, making it very friendly to the environment. Be sure to find Sprouts Facebook page and @SproutsInc on Twitter to follow our regular updates!
Women In Business Appreciation Event
Posted by Kelly
On May 4th, 2009 the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce held an event to thank and celebrate the Women in Business Council of which Sprouts’ Sharon Quercioli is an active member. It was held at Essencia Salon in North Palm Beach and was a great evening of food, fun and friends.
