Every day, Lindsey pulls the glassybaby made the day before from the ovens and carts them over to a long table in the back. She holds them up to the light, and carefully looks over their size, shape, color, and quality. Those that make the cut are sold in glassybaby stores, but those that do not we call seconds. Twice a year we have a sale so that they too have the chance to light a home, create a memory and start a new story in someone’s life. But their real purpose, just like every single glassybaby we make, is to give back to charity. glassybaby faithful will soon line up at the Madrona Studio in Seattle for the seconds sale on June 30th, 2012 starting at 8am. glassybaby will donate 10% of revenue (a giving goal of more than $10,000) from the seconds sale to the Cancer Patient Assistance Fund at Swedish Medical Center. This fund provides non-medical financial assistance to help those in need. This crucial program offers relief for rent, transportation; childcare, insurance, utility bills and other essentials that patients need to ensure that they are not forced to forego life-saving cancer treatment.
glassybaby is also supporting the Cancer Patient Assistance Fund by partnering with the Seattle Sounders Women to raise awareness in the fight against cancer. glassybaby donates 10% of revenue from the sale of each ‘grass’ glassybaby to the Assistance Fund. As a nonprofit organization, Swedish relies heavily on community partnerships, and the support of those who believe in their mission to provide the very best care to every person they serve — regardless of their ability to pay.
Why glassybaby goodwill:
It began with a light, a light of hope. The year was 1998 and glassybaby founder Lee Rhodes was fighting what would become a 7-year battle with cancer and raising her three young children when she placed tea lights in these small colored handmade glass candle holders and spread them around her home. Feeling the chaos become calm, glassybaby was born. Lee began giving them as gifts, to spread the light of glassybaby. To her, they became “that deep breath that we often forget to take.” Soon, her friends and family asked her to make more so that they too could give them to others—for celebration, for sympathy, for comfort, for beauty. As the company grew, Lee established glassybaby goodwill, the foundation of glassybaby. To date the company has given over $925,000.00 to charities dedicated to health, healing and quality of life, thereby helping to provide a safety net to those in need. So many stories begin and are fostered around these little beacons of hope. Creating memories, gifting and receiving, lighting and sharing, our community is strengthened and supported by glassybaby giving. As a company, we are determined to stay true to our mission. We are grateful to our community for sharing in our journey and remembering that as each of us moves through our own story it is our own voice we must listen to, it is our light that must shine.
After the ceremony, Kris Forth, Brandon’s mom and founder of Brandon’s Goal Foundation, was approached by a 20 year old woman who was diagnosed with melanoma at age 14. She shared her story with Kris and told her how exciting it was to learn about the partnership and be at the game for the gifting of the glassybaby. When Kris learned that this young woman is currently battling her 8th brain tumor, she gave her the grass glassybaby which had just been given to her by a Sounder Player. Kris said, “I gave her my glassybaby and told her you guys would want her to have it. You’re reaching a lot of people!”
