Monday was really exciting. And it’s been a busy week so I’m just now getting around to telling you about it. Monday, November 1st, I went into my favorite coffee shop (also considered my second office) and my favorite monthly publication, Underwired, was there. It’s always delivered on the first of the month (by the editor, herself, so you know) and I get so excited to flip through and see what sorts of themes she’s writing about this time. 
Well, the November issue was big for me. Huge, actually, because it featured a woman I’ve had the pleasure to know for several years, and had the distinct honor of working with the past six months.
It happened on a playground right after this past Derby. I was at my daughter’s school and was searching for our PTA chair to see if she’d be interested in having our school participate in the Itzy Ritzy Fundraiser I rep. I found my neighbor, Karen Sherman, who’s been at the school longer than I, and asked if she could point me in the right direction. She inquired what the program was all about. When I told her about Itzy Ritzy‘s reusable Snack Happened® bags and how they are now becoming a hot, new fundraiser for schools, she and I basically struck a deal. Karen is the Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and PR at Louisville-based Yum! Brands. 
To me, Karen’s always been my neighbor.. an amazing working mom with two great sons who play with my little boy. But at that moment, I found out that what she does is manage a worldwide program to help end world hunger. She’s involved in an entire part of the corporation that I couldn’t hear enough about.
In the past few years, she told me, the World Hunger Relief program has raised $60 million to aid hunger across the globe. And this year, they were hoping to sell items rather than only ask for cash donations. And a reusable, FDA-approved snack bag was the perfect item.
Just like that, we got on the phone with Kelly Douglas, owner of Itzy Ritzy out of Naperville, IL. Since those first few phone calls, we’ve been able to bring this program forward. The website (http://fromhungertohope.com) is now live. The purchase of a set of two of Itzy Ritzy’s special edition Snack Happened® bags provides enough food for 40 children to eat.
To me, this is a unique way of doing business. It used to be that business deals were struck between men on golf courses. In my experience, it’s been between two women on a playground.
And of course, when you get some creative women in a room (or on a phone call) you start thinking outside the box. We got Itzy Ritzy’s publicist involved in LA (yes, my mouth was on the floor whenever she talked about her famous friends) and we planned a party at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas – and, I got to go!
Here is a picture of me with Kelly Douglas & Karen Sherman, and another with our new famous friends, Ali Landry & Joely Fisher, along with Virgina Ferguson of the Yum! PR team. What an awesome night. 
Lucky for me, the editor of Underwired agreed this was a story to tell – specifically about Karen and what she and her team do for world hunger relief. 
So this holiday season, we at 520 East Brands encourage you to give a little – feed a lot – and get a little something in return that you’ll use and love (I promise).
by 
