Donation - On Point for College

This basket was a recent donation we did for On Point for College. The rich brown magazine rack is filled with all kinds of decadent chocolate and will be used for their upcoming 10th Anniversary dinner and silent auction.

I met the founder of On Point for College a few years ago when we were working on forming the original WISE Advisory Board. When Ginny Donohue stood up and explained what On Point does for local kids, I swear I got goosebumps.

This is what they do:

* They begin with One-on-one counseling - choosing a college, financial aid, and college applications

* Take students on College Visits
* Connect them with Mentors
* Help with clothing, bedding, backpacks and college supplies
* Offer Transportation to college
* Provide an Orientation workshop before the first day of college.
* To help bridge the intimidating gap between financial aid and college costs, they offer students “last dollar” grants for expenses such as enrollment deposits, textbooks, fees, housing etc. Since 1999, more than 1,242 “last dollar” grants, totaling more than $168,372, have helped On Point for College students get to college or stay in college.
* Follow up with Advocacy and support for students on college campuses (i.e. financial aid, diversity issues, tutoring services, getting along with roommates, etc.)
* Offer Transportation to and from college on vacations

This is the impact that On Point has had:

* 1,710 students were actively involved with On Point for College, more than 1,070 were enrolled in 140 colleges and universities, and 125 had earned college degrees.
* A total of 2,040 young adults, age 17-25 had received one-on-one admission counseling from the On Point for College staff. An additional 160 volunteers support the program on all levels, from mentoring to transportation to fundraising.
* More than 84 percent of On Point for College students remain in college from their freshman to sophomore years. This is well above the national average retention rate of 75 percent – and a phenomenal achievement for an at-risk student population.
* More than 85 percent of all funds raised go directly to student services.
* For every dollar in aid awarded to its students, On Point for College leverages an additional $33 in aid from federal, state and private sources.

It's really an amazing organization - you can stop by their website at http://www.onpointforcollege.org/ for more information.

Custom Gift Basket - Bridal Show Give Away

One of our long time corporate clients, The Genesee Grande Hotel, recently brought in some beautiful items (wine, wine glasses, chocolates, a hotel gift certificate, an inspirational plaque, and a handsome chocolate brown chest) for us to create a gift to raffle off at a recent bridal show.

Custom Gift Basket - Muffin Magic

This custom gift was a personal one. My niece Samantha LOVES to cook - how many 10 year old kids ask for a food processor for Christmas? And she loves the color pink. So, I found this cute muffin cookbook, and paired it up with some good Calphalon muffin pans, and pink (a portion of the proceeds go to breast cancer research), mixing bowls and utensils. It was a big hit!

Custom Gift Basket - The Snow Leopard

Just before Christmas, one of our corporate clients asked that we create a gift with a snow leopard theme, for The Snow Leopard Soiree fundraiser at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. I must admit I was a little stumped on this one - I wasn't too sure of what a snow leopard actually looked like. Luckily, Laura's daughter Grace was able to track one down for us along with a couple of books. Voila!

Custom Gift Basket - Bianchi Industrial

This fun project was a gift we designed for Bianchi Industrial, a local demolition company. The toy crane and miniature dumpster were filled with goodies for the office to share and we used chicken wire to simulate the chain link fencing they use on their job sites. It was huge - 3 feet wide and 2.5 feet high!

Francis House

One of our favorite customers asked if we would donate a gift for a Francis House fundraiser. Normally, our donations are a little less extravagant than this, but Francis House is one of the most worthwhile causes I can think of. Many of my oncology patients over the years have chosen Francis House for quality end of life care. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about their services.

For this gift I hand-picked the painted trunk, chenille throw, journal, and a couple of bath items locally, then coordinated our own oatmeal and honey bath products, vanilla candle, bath pillow, puff, herbal tea and mug, and a relaxation CD to the colors of the trunk. We're pleased to report that the lady who won this was thrilled!

Marcia

Custom Gift Basket - "The Gardener"

This is a custom gift that we sent out recently to an avid gardener. She is retiring from her job at Loretto and plans to spend more time digging in the dirt!

Custom Gift Basket - "Global Traveler"

We just finished up a special project for Tracy Cifra, who is an account executive for Haylor, Freyer & Coon. HF & C is a Syracuse based insurance company, and Tracy needed a give-away for a trade show. HF &C is going global, and she wanted the gift to reflect that. We collaborated on the concept, and Tracy picked up a large decorative box that looks like a suitcase, some imported gift ware (including a fun carved elephant from Africa) and a world music CD. We added chocolate from Italy, Germany and Holland, French mustard, Scottish shortbread and a set of chopsticks and bamboo placements.