Tag: community outreach

September 28, 2018

October Charity of the Month – Chris Kyle Frog Foundation

Every month, Frame USA chooses a different local or national charity to support. Community involvement and helping those in need is super important to us. We contribute to charities by donating money, time, and resources. For every order placed on frameusa.com, we donate $0.75 to the charity of the month.

October 2018’s Charity of the Month is the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation (CKFF). This foundation focuses on helping marriages and families of military staff, veterans, and first responders stay together. They offer a variety of resources and programs to strengthen family units and marriages, with the goal of helping future generations. CKFF was founded by Taya Kyle in honor of her late husband, Chris Kyle.

“Chris and Taya knew first-hand the challenges military and first responder families encounter from their lives of service. Prior to Chris’ untimely passing in February 2013, he was developing his vision for CKFF programs to support active duty military, veterans and first responder marriages and families. Today, Taya and the CKFF team are fulfilling Chris’ vision through the development and delivery of life-changing, impactful programs and services to service couples across the U.S.” –www.chriskylefrogfoundation.org

Some of the programs that the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation currently offers are:

Date Night Out – a program for military couples to spend time together and also with other service couples. It’s important to share common experiences and have fun spending quality time together.

Revitalization Retreats – Married service couples can apply or be nominated for a special retreat. The retreat provides accommodation for transportation, meals, activities, entertainment, and child care.

Empowered Spouses Retreat – a weekend retreat in a remote place where spouses can get together and meet people with similar experiences. They also offer professional guidance and a variety of fun activities.

Mastering Your Marriage – This is a Capstone program that combines a retreat and online curriculum to teach service couples new skills to support their marriage.

Remember that for all of October 2018, each order on frameusa.com contributes a $0.75 donation to the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation. We also allow you to make an additional donation if you choose at checkout!

August 31, 2018

The Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s – Charity of the Month

Frame USA’s September charity of the month is the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s.

Every month, Frame USA sponsors a different charity organization. It’s important to us to give back to our community and help those in need. For every order placed on Frameusa.com, we donate $0.75 to the charity of the month. We also help gather donations of money, time, and resources.

The charity we’re donating to for September 2018 is the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s. This foundation focuses on supporting people living with Parkinson’s disease to live well.

“While it’s critical to find a cure for Parkinson’s, we feel strongly that people with Parkinson’s also need information in order to take action and live well today.” – www.davisphinneyfoundation.org

Davis Phinney was an Olympic cyclist who celebrated more victories than any other cyclist in American history. Between the 1970’s and 1993, Davis achieved 328 cycling awards. However, Davis was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson’s Disease in 2000 after years of unexplained illness.

Davis was relieved to finally have a name for what was causing these symptoms. He had been feeling fatigue, muscle cramping, and weakness for years. He founded the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s after realizing there are ways to improve his symptoms and quality of life. His foundation helps fund new research to demonstrate the effectiveness of techniques like exercise and speech in improving Parkinson’s symptoms.

“Today, Davis lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and fellow Olympian, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, and their children Taylor and Kelsey. Davis continues to celebrate the daily victories in his life and inspires others with his message of optimism and encouragement to help people with Parkinson’s live well today.” – www.davisphinneyfoundation.org

The foundation offers resources including informative books written by disorder specialists, ambassadors who inform their communities, and a library of educational videos.

How to Get Involved

If you would like to get involved, they are accepting volunteers. You can add a donation to your order on Frameusa.com along with the $0.75 we automatically donate.

July 31, 2018

Charity of the Month August 2018: Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation

Charity means a lot to us at Frame USA.

Every month, Frame USA selects a different local or national charity to donate to. It’s our goal to make a difference in the community by providing resources and donating money and time to a variety of charity foundations.

As part of our Monthly Charitable Gift Program, we donate to that month’s chosen charity organization $0.75 for every frame purchase made on our website, and $1.00 for every custom frame order through our local retail store. We also collect donations from our customers, vendors and key partners.

This month we have a returning local charity – The Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation. This foundation works to help prevent melanoma through education, awareness, and supporting research to find a cure. They named their foundation after Andy Caress, a young man from Cincinnati who lost his battle to melanoma at age 24 in August 2010.

On their website, The Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation says this about Andy and his battle:

“In October, 2008, Andy became concerned about a mole on the back of his neck and went to a dermatologist. The biopsy indicated that the mole was melanoma, a disease that Andy and his family knew next to nothing about. Then Andy started on a 22 month journey to try to beat back “the Beast”, as he called it. He started with surgeries to remove the mole and the lymph nodes in his neck in Cincinnati, then continued his treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. There he worked with an incredible medical team, headed by world renowned melanoma specialist, Dr. Patrick Hwu. Andy and his close friend started a web page, andycaress.org, where Andy chronicled his journey, and friends could send him messages. To date, there have been over 36,000 visitors to that site!

Andy bravely endured more surgeries on his neck, the insertion of a rod to strengthen his femur, countless rounds of radiation, and weeks upon weeks of debilitating bio-chemo therapy. He remained positive and confident that he would win his fight. He became friends with other young adults who were also battling melanoma, and referred to them and himself as ‘Melanoma Warriors.'”

To continue the work that Andy began, ACMF has based their mission around his goals. They list their goals as the following:

Creating awareness about the seriousness of melanoma and that it affects all skin tones and races
Educating the public about steps that can be taken to prevent melanoma
Increasing opportunities for a cure for this deadly disease through work with leading melanoma and cancer research organizations
“Wipe melanoma off the face of the planet” – in Andy’s words

Along with taking donations through Frame USA’s Charity of the Month and other private donations, ACMF is always in need of volunteers for events. If you are interested in getting involved, visit their website here for more information.

June 28, 2018

Charity of the Month: Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center

At Frame USA it’s important to us to make a difference.

Each month Frame USA supports a different charity organization. It’s a priority to us to help those in need by donating money, time, and other assistance and resources. Our goal is to make a difference in the community, both local and national, by providing resources to a variety of charity foundations.

July 2018’s Charity of the Month is a local organization called Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center, or VICRC. The Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center is a non-profit organization which provides resources to at risk community members that help them to build lifelong stability. VICRC’s mission is to build self-sustainability and create lasting change in the Lockland, OH area community.

VICRC provides emergency resources for families in need. They have a food pantry where every 30 days low income families can go “shopping” for free. This food pantry offers a wide selection of not only food, but also personal care products and baby formula. VICRC understands the impact of and wants to help reduce food insecurities and the rising childhood hunger rates.

In addition to their food pantry, VICRC has a similar clothing pantry. Every 30 days families have access to free clothing and housewares. They insure low income families and children have proper clothing, along with necessary household items such as dishes, cookware, and small appliances. Their clothing pantry also has other necessities available including baby diapers, adult diapers, and feminine hygiene products.

Along with emergency material resources, VICRC offers financial aid to residents in the area who are at risk of eviction or utility disconnection. This resource reduces the risk of homelessness or loss of crucial utilities services like water and electricity.

Valley Interfaith also provides holiday assistance to families in need. They will give holiday packages including food boxes and children’s gifts for Easter, Thanksgiving, and the winter holiday season. Along with this, they have a Back-to-School program where households with school age children receive school supplies at the beginning of the school year.

To learn more about Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center, you can visit their website here. They are also currently accepting volunteers who are mission driven, team players, enthusiastic about helping others, and supportive of their vision.

Remember that for the whole month of July 2018, any purchase made on www.frameusa.com goes toward helping this charity. Frame USA’s website also gives you the option at checkout to make an additional donation to Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center if you choose to do so.

May 31, 2018

June Charity of the Month: The Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence

Frame USA is dedicated to helping those in need.

Every month, we support a different local or national charity by donating money, time, and other resources. Our goal is to raise as much money as possible and to offer our assistance to those who need it the most.

The charity we have chosen for June 2018 is the Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, also known as SPAN.

SPAN is a human rights organization committed to ending violence, and is based in Boulder, Colorado. They are a community organization working for advocacy and education. SPAN offers services and counseling for adults, youth, and children because they know that people of all ages need support.

They run an emergency shelter for individuals and families who need a safe place to stay. In their March 2018 newsletter, SPAN published this story about Becca, a mother living in their shelter:

“Becca is in shelter with us, she has three children in elementary school. Becca’s oldest child does not qualify for transportation from the school district because the school is less than two miles from our shelter and the child is seen as old enough to walk. However, Becca does not feel safe allowing the child to walk alone because of the family violence they are currently experiencing. For this reason she makes the walk — 1.9 miles — twice daily with her older child and coordinates this with the pick-up/ drop off schedules for her two other children. The total walking trips to bus stops and schools takes about 75 minutes each morning and afternoon.
This leaves Becca only a few hours a day to work on the things she hopes to accomplish while in shelter such as, finding permanent housing, connecting with legal support, getting to doctor’s appointments etc.”

– Written by Roshan Kalantar

Other resources SPAN provides include support for LGBTQ folks, legal advocacy, Latinx services, and support for immigrants. To learn more, visit their website here.

We are incredibly proud to be working with SPAN this month, and hope to provide them with a substantial amount of donations. To help us out, be sure to donate during the checkout process at frameusa.com!

February 21, 2018

Insight Into Our New Inside Sales Representative

I grew up with a total of 10 siblings including myself. My father and mother moved to the U.S after Vietnam just shortly after the Vietnam War. They had nothing coming over, with children already coming over, and more to come in transit. The struggle was real for them, my mother and father did whatever was necessary for us to have a good life and experience nothing but good and wellness. There is not a day that goes by without me thinking of both my parents and what they have gone through. My love and appreciation will always be there for them, even through the argument and disagreements we may have had in the past, I owe everything to them, I mean everything.

I have one word that I remind myself every day, “gratitude.” A word that reminds me, that life is short, those who help you along life have used up their time and sacrifice so much for you to have a life with less struggles. My parents are the ones I owe most, if not all, my gratitude too. And the reason I say most, is because we can go through life solo or we can accept the hands of others and learn from that experience. My mother told me, “Never expect anything in return and always help those who need a hand.” As I pondered her words, I knew what she meant, I understood her words as, I will never completely know the outcome of any situation given in life, but I would at least know the outcome of my choices and how I present myself in this world to others.

Her words kept me to be grateful under any situation, getting cut from a team, failing an exam, not getting the job I applied for. I can’t even imagine the hardship my parents gone through to even give us these opportunities. With this mindset, I know that others go through difficult times to, maybe they are having a bad day and need the moral support. My father or mother didn’t have to tell me how important it is to work hard in life, I believe it’s something you must see and experience first-hand, and I saw it through my parents, even my older siblings. I was given the gift of Choice, to choose what I wanted to do in life and what to experience.

FRAME USA has given me the opportunity to be a part of their team, and I am unbelievably grateful for that. It shows that they are willing to give me a chance as an Inside Sales Representative to prove myself that I am a dedicated and smart worker. I cannot wait to grow within this wonderful company and see where it takes me from here. Thank you FRAME USA.

~ John Nguyen

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February 7, 2018

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

“The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s (AFA) mission is to provide optimal care and services to individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses and to their families and caregivers.

AFA was founded in 2002 by Bert E. Brodsky, whose mother lived with Alzheimer’s disease from 1980-1992. At that time, there was little information available and nowhere to turn for support. Mr. Brodsky’s goal was to make sure that no other family living with Alzheimer’s disease would have to go through the journey alone.

Fifteen years later, AFA has grown to a network of more than 2,600 member organizations nationwide that provide direct care and services. To date, AFA has trained more than 13,000 healthcare professionals in dementia-specific care, provided free, confidential memory screenings to over 3.5 million people, and provides support, counseling and education to thousands.”

To help with the vision, Frame USA will be donating to The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America in appreciation for your online order for the month of February.

We are proud to support this great organization. Be sure to donate during the checkout process to help us support this great charity!

December 4, 2017

Fill The Truck

“In December of 2010, Dan Regenold, CEO of Frame USA, had a vision; to fill an entire 53′ foot semi-truck for a local charity. He knew this would be his biggest charitable giving project and he would need a team to assist him. He put together a team of giving coordinators consisting of: packers, donation collectors, marketing professionals and more, to help coordinate this massive event in under 30 days. By the end of December, Frame USA ended up needing a second truck because they over filled their semi by 7%. This resulted in 833 boxes and over 30 skids equaling more than 22,200 donations!

The truck didn’t stop there. To Dan, the truck represented hope, life and a second chance for people within his community who were down on their luck. It was at this point that the truck became a catalyst, ultimately giving birth to what is now called Fill The Truck.

In 2011, Frame USA expanded the Fill The Truck charity initiative to partner with 9 businesses to host a total of 8 trucks and/or storage units throughout the greater Cincinnati, northern Kentucky and southern Dayton area. Each business hosted a truck and collected donations for a local charity. In 2012, Fill The Truck hosted 6 trucks at 6 different locations.

In the last two years, 2015 and 2016, Fill The Truck has grown and in each of the last two years the charitable initiative has collected over 40,000 items at multiple locations throughout greater Cincinnati.

This year, the 2017 vision is to fill multiple trucks and provide substantial donations to each charity. We have partnered with 17 different businesses and corporate partners to donate items to seven great charities.

We are collecting donations to Fill The Truck. Even just basic things such as toilet paper, personal care items, winter clothing and bedding can have a profound impact for those who are in need. Please consider donating an item today through our website.”

To help with the vision, Frame USA will be donating to Fill The Truck in appreciation for your online order for the month of December.

We are proud to support this great organization. Be sure to donate during the checkout process to help us support this great charity!

November 1, 2017

St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

“St Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962. St. Jude’s is a pediatric treatment and research facility that is focused on children’s catastrophic diseases. The hospital costs around $2.4 million a day to run and there is no cost to be treated.

Since St Jude was established, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is the most common type of childhood cancer, has increased from 4% in 1962 to 94% today. Also during this time the overall survival rate for childhood cancers has risen from 20% to 80%. St. Jude has treated children from across the US and over 70 countries, with doctors across the world consulting with St. Jude on their toughest cases.“

To help with the vision, Frame USA will be donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in appreciation for your online order for the month of November.

We are proud to support this great organization. Be sure to donate during the checkout process to help us support this great charity!

October 24, 2017

National Food Day

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October 24th, 2017 is National Food Day in the USA. This day is all about showcasing healthy food and encouraging people to change their diets for the better. The whole idea is to help people Eat Real, which means limiting the amount of pop and sugary drinks, extremely salted foods, factory farmed meats and other unhealthy items and increasing the intake of fruits, sustainable raised protein, vegetables and whole grains.

National Food Day was started in 2011 by The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The CSPI provides advice and advocacy for a healthier food system by educating the public and pushing for government policies that are enforce what we know about the dangers of the food we intake.

Some of the biggest changes they’re looking to make with Nation Food Day includes:

Keeping junk food out of schools
Reducing the consumption of soda
Reducing sodium in processed food
Ensure accurate and honest labeling on food packages
Decrease the amount of junk food marketed to children

“The typical American diet is contributing to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems. Those problems cost Americans more than $150 billion per year. Plus, a meat-heavy diet takes a terrible toll on the environment. Eating Real can save your own health and put our food system on a more humane, sustainable path. With America’s resources, there’s no excuse for hunger, low wages for food and farm workers, or inhumane conditions for farm animals.”

So do your part and start today! Eat a healthier dies and put your family’s diet on track for success.