A Charitable Twist On A Growing Trend

PR Web:

In Hollywood, the start of the year means the Golden Globes, and along with them, the glamorous giveaway parties where celebrity and commerce intersect, as famous people are given free luxury goods in a quest for publicity. Here in the Pacific Northwest, a group of baby-product companies plans to start 2008 with a heartwarming twist on one aspect of this trend: the parties for rich and famous parents to give away luxury baby products that the PR-pro party organizers hope will end up on magazine covers.

In Seattle on Jan. 5, 2008, there will be a big party. Just like in Hollywood, lots of parents will show up with their adorable babies, and lots of luxury baby goods will be given away. But in this case, the recipients will be the clients of the Providence Regina House food and clothing bank in the South Park neighborhood.

The party will start early, at 9:30 am, and the doors will stay open through noon. Along with balloons, music, and of course, luxury baby products, essentials such as diapers, formula, and food will also be given away. The idea is to provide an extra treat for babies that get too few of them.

It all started when Paige Collins, the manager of the Providence Regina House, talked to her neighbor Carol Schiller, the founder of Baby Chaleco, about Baby Day.

Schiller, who had recently been invited to participate in the baby giveaway suite at the Golden Globe awards in Hollywood, was inspired by the coincidence.

“It’s no secret that celebrities can well afford to buy whatever their babies need. I immediately thought, how much better to be part of a giveaway bash for families in need, rather than for celebrities,” recalls Schiller.

Schiller and Collins decided to create Baby Day Luxe: a fancier version of the regular Baby Day. Pacific Northwest companies will donate products with a normally unaffordable bit of luxury to babies whose families struggle just to get by.

Schiller used her contacts in the baby business to reach out to other local manufacturers, and the list of enthusiastic contributors quickly grew.

Jennifer Porter, co-founder of Satsuma Designs explains, “We were thrilled when Carol approached us. Many of us have seen the sheer volume of ‘product’ that companies are willing to bestow on celebrities. Baby Day Luxe gives us a chance to put ‘product’ into deserving hands.”