American Icons: Companies Who Give Back
As we prepare to enter a new year, it’s time to put forth our resolutions for 2016. At American Sunglass, we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to highlight some of the brands that go above and beyond when it comes to charity.
By supporting them, you have the opportunity to play a role in their efforts to make the world a better place. Each one of these companies has dedicated their efforts not solely on the bottom line, but on having a positive impact on society.
The apparel company’s philanthropic efforts began with shoes as part of its One for One campaign, donating a pair to someone in need every time a customer purchased a pair for themselves.
It has expanded those efforts to include sunglasses. For every pair purchased, TOMS gives the gift of sight to those who would otherwise be unable to access such care themselves. This includes providing prescription glasses to someone with impaired vision to covering the cost of sight-saving surgery.
TOMS has helped restore sight to over 325,000 people in need, working with a network of 14 partners in 13 countries across the world to reach those who otherwise may not be able to see the wonders of the world around them.
Earlier this year, the fashionable eyewear brand teamed up with U2’s Bono (read more about this partnership here) and The Brien Holden Vision Institute, making a commitment to preventing vision impairment and blindness in more than 5 million impoverished children and adults worldwide by 2020.
On the company’s website, they write that their combined aim is to “create permanent and sustainable eye care services throughout the world. Hundreds of millions of children and adults do not have access to eye care or a pair of glasses.”
By purchasing a pair of Revo sunglasses, you can help change that as a portion of the proceeds go to support prevention, detection and treatment.
Though the company is based in the center of paradise – Hawaii – it understands that the world is far from perfect. Over the course of its 35-year history, Maui Jim has made a commitment to a wide array of organizations that are doing everything from supporting children with autism to researching cures for breast cancer to protecting the world’s oceans.
A few years ago, the firm made a $150,000 donation to Hale Makua Health Services, a compassionate care and skilled nursing center for Maui’s elderly population.
Its charitable giving has also included $20,000 to Women Helping Women Maui, a nonprofit aimed at providing support for female victims of domestic violence. And it holds an annual golf tournament in Illinois that has raised over $2.5 million for the Children’s Home Association in that Midwest state.
This work has rubbed off on employees who eagerly take part in its “Dive for Cover” fundraiser, also held in Illinois – Maui Jim’s administrative and manufacturing operations are located here - where they take a February swim in the company pond to raise funds for the South Side Mission which cares for Peoria’s homeless population. This event is just one example that giving back can be fun and contagious.
Words of an Icon: As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both. - Bono