Community Service

Enesco, Itasca, IL, is holding a Let's Play Ball in-store promotion on July 6–8, to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Atlanta. The event will include sales of an exclusive Precious Moments figurine, Let's Have a Ball Together. The 5½" figure of a girl holding a softball bat and glove retails for $35, a portion of which goes to the Boys & Girls Clubs to fund activities for disadvantaged children. In addition, for a $1 donation, collectors can buy a coordinating precious moments plush bear, valued at $24, for only $14.99. Enesco and the retailer will both match the $1 donation. Since Enesco began partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs in 1996, the company has raised $325,000 for the organization.

Enesco is also aiding local communities by holding a Back to School retailer event at all Distinguished Service and Century Circle retailers. On September 7–9, customers who bring in a new school supply or a used book can buy the God Understands Precious Moments figurine, valued at $35, for $19. The materials collected will be donated to a local school or library. The 4¾" figurine of a little boy holding an exam, one of the original 21 Precious Moments figurines introduced in 1979, will be re-introduced with a paint change exclusively for this event.

Collector's Festival 2001 will raise money for Chicago's Gallery 37, a job-training program of the City of Chicago and the Arts Matter Foundation, through the sale of Olympic-style pins, the Show Shoppe, and paid evaluation of collectibles by experts lead by Antiques Roadshow's Gary Sohmers. Founded in 1991, Gallery 37 pairs Chicago youths with professional artists as apprentices, allowing them to earn a paycheck while creating performances and artworks for sale at the Gallery 37 Retail Store. In 1999, the program added the Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, a year-round studio, performance, instructional, and showcase space. The Center also hosts the Gallery 37 Advanced Arts Education Program, a partnership with the Chicago Public Schools that lets select high school students take daytime courses for credits; City Colleges Advanced Adult Education Courses in the Arts, several job training programs, and Gallery 37's Artists in Residence program. Collector's Festival 2001 takes place June 14–17 at Chicago's Navy Pier.

The Boyds Collection Ltd., McSherrystown, PA, created a new bear called Vanessa R. Angel to benefit the Starlight Children's Foundation, which provides entertainment to more than 74,000 seriously ill children each month. Vanessa is named after a seven-year-old girl who has been battling leukemia for two years. Boyds will donate 100 percent of its profits from the sale of Vanessa R. Angel to Starlight. The bear will be available beginning this month. So far, Boyds has raised $304,027 for the foundation.