First Book and ME Make a Difference

As a child, artist and entrepreneur Mary Engelbreit was inspired by reading. As soon as she was old enough to hold a pencil, she spent hours recreating the characters and scenes from the classic storybooks that her mother read to her. In fact, it was through her early experiences with the storybook illustrations of artists like Johnny Gruelle and Jessie Wilcox Smith that Engelbreit developed her distinctive style.

Nowadays, Engelbreit is a successful businesswoman with a chain of retail stores, an award-winning magazine, 150 book titles in print, hundreds of thousands of greeting cards sold, and a slew of licensed product that ranges from dinnerware to computer screensavers. Over the years, she has shared her good fortune with a number of charities close to her heart, donating artwork and materials to causes such as Boys Hope Girls Hope and the Family Resource Center.

In 1999, her company, Mary Engelbreit Studios, began searching for charity with which it could form a national partnership, so that it could become more active on the fundraising side of philanthropy. For the partnership, Engelbreit wanted to find a cause that would be suitable for her brand and would resonate with her loyal fans.

Along with everything else that she does, Mary Engelbreit is still an avid reader. Though she had supported literacy programs in the past through donations, she decided that she wanted to do something special to share her love of reading with young people. In May 2000, Mary Engelbreit Studios launched a national charitable partnership with First Book, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that provides children from low-income families with the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

"Our partnership with First Book allows us to substantially contribute to one group on a nationwide level — to help them achieve their ultimate goal of inspiring every child in America to read," said Engelbreit. "One of the reasons we chose First Book is that the books go directly to the kids."

First Book works with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who have little or no access to books. First Book only distributes new books, because, according to the organization's president, Kyle Zimmer, "Any time you give a child something that is brand new, you send a powerful message: Books are important; children are important."

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of national Make A Difference Day on October 28, 2000, Engelbreit created a commemorative poster promoting First Book and Make a Difference Day. The poster features Engelbreit's signature character, Ann Estelle, wearing rainbow sunglasses and holding a candle aloft against a dark background. The poster's theme, "Make a Difference: One Candle May Light a Thousand," is written on a bright yellow banner across the bottom of the poster.

These posters were sold across the country via a toll-free number — (800) 333-6737 — as well as on the Internet at www.maryengelbreit.com. The posters were also sold at Engelbreit's 11 retail stores, which span the country from Atlanta to Seattle.

To date, more than 3,500 commemorative posters have been sold, raising over $3,300 for First Book, and now that the initial production costs have been covered, all of the monies raised will go directly to First Book. Additionally, the original artwork for the poster was auctioned for $3,740, which was also donated to First Book.

In addition to its poster efforts, Mary Engelbreit Studios got some hands-on involvement during the Make a Difference Day 2000 campaign. In the weeks prior to October 28, the company's employees teamed up with local U.S. Coast Guard servicemen at a warehouse outside St. Louis to sort and fill orders for the two million books that First Book distributed to literacy groups on Make a Difference Day.

The gift of reading helped Mary Engelbreit find her passion for drawing, and First Book gives her a way to pass that gift on to children. And Engelbreit's support of First Book continues in 2001. This summer, she made appearances at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, Texas, and the International Collectibles Expo in Chicago, where she signed some 800 Make a Difference Day posters for fans. These events raised an additional $9,600 in support of First Book.

Engelbreit is continuing to help First Book in other ways as well. She has created a First Book Kit featuring illustrations of a book-loving owl named Booker; the kit encourages Engelbreit licensees to develop products that will benefit the organization. Finally, thanks to an agreement between Mary Engelbreit Studios and collectible manufacturer Enesco, five cents will be donated to First Book each time a customer buys one of Engelbreit's licensed, resin letter magnets.

As both Mary Engelbreit and First Book know, reading can be the road to success in business and life.