charlene

Follow Cosmetics for a Cause on Instagram

Follow Cosmetics for a Cause on Instagram

Hi Friends!!  We have been so very busy over the past year behind-the-scenes at Cosmetics for a Cause sorting through the fabulous donations from all of you.  You are so generous!!!  Whether you’re an individual or a large cosmetics company, we appreciate you.

To see the latest, follow Cosmetics for a Cause on Instagram.  It’s an easier way for us to keep in touch with you and let you in on all of our news.

Thanks again for following and for you support.

customized_girl_tshirt

An Example of What We Cannot Accept

An Example of What We Cannot Accept

Hi Friends!  We are so thrilled with all of the makeup donations that continue to pour in to Cosmetics for a Cause!  We have a big moving event coming up where we will be moving into our new storage unit and we are so thrilled to have met our goal!

We wanted to remind you that we cannot accept makeup that has been opened and used, even if the makeup has only been “swiped.”  It seems like a waste to not be able to pass along makeup that you won’t use, but for health reasons, we cannot donate it.

Here is an example of “swiped” makeup.  We have to throw this away.  (It’s Chanel, too! It’s painful to throw away Chanel makeup!)

donate makuep

The brush was never used and you can see that three of the shades are perfectly fine.  However, since one color was swiped, we have to throw it away.

The same thing goes for lipstick.  We check every single tube that gets donated to make sure it doesn’t have a swipe mark on it.  If it does, we have to dispose of it.

So please help make our job easier by NOT donating makeup that has been swiped.  We know it’s painful and that it seems so wasteful.  However, think about how terrible it would be if we donated swiped makeup and the girl or woman had a bad physical reaction.  That would be worse than throwing away the gently used makeup you have.

Thanks for understanding!!!

We Have a Storage Unit!

Hi Friends!

We wanted to let you know that we finally have a storage unit to house all of your fabulous donations! We are so happy to have the extra space to sort through all of the products we receive and make sure they get distributed to the right places where they can benefit the most women.

Thanks to our mention in People Magazine, we have been inundated with products and we are so thankful! So many women will be helped by your generosity. Thank you!

donate makeup to women in need

In addition to our new storage unit, we have also added the ability for you to make monetary donations via PayPal and credit card safely and securely. Once again, thank you!

 





Mother’s Day Gift Idea

Mother’s Day Gift Idea!

Helps Cosmetics for a Cause

Friends!  Our corporate sponsor, eWillow.com Greeting Cards is offering a special Mother’s Day gift special this year.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each “Save $20! Quarterly Subscription Box” will be donated to Cosmetics for a Cause.  Every penny donated goes to the charity.  We are a volunteer-only organization with no paid staff.

Why eWillow.com?

Subscription box greeting cards are all the rage!  With a subscription to eWillow.com, you’ll always have a card on-hand when you need one.  No more texts and emails…send a meaning card in the mail to make someone feel special!

What is the money used for?

The main goal of Cosmetics for a Cause is to solicit and donate makeup to women in need.  However, we often receive requests from organization around the country for donations.  Cosmetics for a Cause uses the funds it raises to pay for shipping costs and to purchase cosmetic bags.

For more information, look around our site or email us at info@ewillow.com.

Eagle Scout Project Donation to Boys & Girls Club

Eagle Scout Project Donation to Boys & Girls Club

A few months ago, we were happy to supply makeup to a young man who was completing his Eagle Scout project for the Boy Scouts of America. Our driveway turned into a distribution center as other young men joined together to sort and package makeup and cologne to donate to our local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club.  The project was completed just in time for the holidays.

eagle scout product donation to boys & girls club

eagle scout product donation to boys & girls club

We are so happy that we could help the Boys and Girls Club, and congratulations to Joshua for completing his Eagle Scout project AND for getting accepting to a very prestigious college!

Please Contact Us!

Friends!

We are so touched by your generosity and your willingness to ship us your unused cosmetics.

We have been inundated with donations, which is a great thing!  However, we think we’ve missed sending thank you notes to many of you.

Please, please, please contact us if you have mailed us a cosmetics donation and you haven’t received a thank you note.

We want to make sure that you know how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness by mailing you a personal thank you card in the mail.

You can contact us by clicking HERE or by sending an email to donate@cosmeticsforacause.org.

cosmetics for a cause thank you

 

Summer 2016: Part 3 ~ Non-Profits First

Non-Profits First

non-proftis first

Non-Profits First ~ I learned a great lesson when my internship did not work out the way it was supposed to.  I was given the gift of time to spend on Cosmetics for a Cause.  One of the first things I did when I returned home for the summer from college in NYC was join Non-Profits First.  Non-Profits First is a wonderful organization with the mission of “strengthening the nonprofit sector by maximizing their capacity to deliver services through accreditation, leadership, development, education and management support services.”  The organization offers free classes to its members on a wide variety of topics.

non-profits first

my mother and me at a non-profits first class

non-profits first

my mother never met a chocolate chip cookie she didn’t like

 

I attended classes on topics ranging from how to manage a board of directors, to how to write grants, to how to make a budget.  I learned so much and made many wonderful contacts in the non-profit community.

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If you are involved with a non-profit, I suggest that you check out Non-Profits First.  The membership dues pale in comparison to the benefits that you will receive.  I was exposed to the behind-the-scenes aspects of running a non-profit which I usually never think about as I am trying to solicit cosmetic donations.  They offer a variety of resources, including the wonderful people who work there, to help non-profits of all sizes.

Be sure to follow this blog because my next post is going to be the most exciting post yet!

Summer 2016: Part 2 ~ Donation Received

Donated Cosmetics

We received ten pallets of makeup from E.L.F. Cosmetics in October.  For our new shipment in May, (you can read all about the May shipment details HERE) the folks at E.L.F. were kind enough to arrange for the pallets to be delivered to us directly.  We were so thankful that they were able to do that because it saved us from having to come up with the funds (which we don’t have) to rent a huge moving van.

We were thrilled when the pallets arrived.  It was like Christmas when we received the donated cosmetics, because we had no idea what would be in the shipment! There were several boxes but two different themes. One theme was Jasmine cosmetics geared to young girls and teenagers.  The second theme included individual assorted makeup items along with makeup bags that we could assemble into kits for women.

donated cosmetics

Pictures of boxes are pretty boring, arent’ they?  Here is a closer look at the fun Jasmine Collection for the girls/teenagers that were in the pink and white boxes in the upper-right photo above:

 

donated cosmetics

How exciting, right?!  I love all of the colors and the packaging.  Imagine feeling so alone and scared and having no hope and then receiving this fun set of makeup.  If it puts a smile on just one girl’s face, Cosmetics for a Cause has done its job.

Here is a look at the items that were in the white boxes shown in the collage above.  In addition to the makeup, we were so, so thrilled to also receive enough makeup bags to assemble several hundred kits.  Luckily, we had several makeup brush kits left over from our October shipment to make sure the makuep bags were filed with everthing a woman needs to apply her makeup.  There was even nail polish, too.

donated cosmetics

Check back for Part 3 of my summer adventure and the growth that Cosmetics for a Cause experienced during the summer of 2016.  Remember in Part 1, when I said my intership fell through, and as a result, I was able to concentrate on Cosmetics for a Cause?  My mother sent me this quote, which I literally experienced come true:

“As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.”

(I only wish I knew who said it.)

 

Summer 2016: Part 1

Summer 2016:  Part 1

summer 2016 donate makuep

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The summer of 2016 rocked for Cosmetics for a Cause, and as a result, we were able to help many women and girls in need by providing them with makeup to help build their self-esteem.  Over the next few days, I’ll be giving you a rundown of all of the wonderful events that took place from May through August.  Today I began my junior year of college, and as I look back at the Summer of 2016, I will always remember it as a summer of growth not only for Cosmetics for a Cause, but for me, too.

I guess the adventure began during my spring break in March.  I was earnestly trying to secure a summer internship and I applied to dozens of jobs.  I was excited to be selected to do research for a new cosmetics company that was in the pre-launch phase.  It was agreed that I would start the internship as soon as my spring semester ended.  Because the intership did not pay anything, I decided to live at home during the summer and I had worked out an arrangement to do the research at a friend’s office so that I wouldn’t be distracted.  I was excited!  The intership was part-time, so I planned on working with Cosmetics for a Cause the rest of the time.

My mom flew to NYC in May to help me pack up my room and move home for the summer.  The exact moment that she stepped onto campus is the exact moment that the wonder of the Summer of 2016 began. THE EXACT MOMENT!  No sooner did we hug hello when my mom’s cell phone rang.  On the other end of the phone was our contact at E.L.F. Cosmetics, calling to find out if we would like 60 pallets of makeup.  WHAT?! The timing of the phone call left NO DOUBT in our minds that it was meant to be that I made the right decision to go home for the summer and dedicate part of my time to building my resume with the start-up cosmetics company and also making time to concentrate on Cosmetics for a Cause.

After a couple of days of enjoying NYC, we flew home and the day came for my internship to begin.  Well, guess what?  There was no internship.  I called and emailed and finally reached someone who proceeded to act as if she had no idea about what I was talking about.  She had no idea that I was “hired” to work for her start-up company for free, and wanted me to send her my qualifications and explain to her what kind of work I expected to do.  SIGN NUMBER TWO that I needed to spend the summer concentrating on Cosmetics for a Cause.  We had a huge shipment coming (because of storage restraints, we could only accept six out of the sixty pallets, but six was just enough.)

I made the decision that Cosmetics for a Cause deserved my FULL involvement.  My mother is kind enough to manage things while I am at school, but it was obvious to me that I needed to take the time I was obviously given to get busy full-time to grow the organization to the next level.  I did not cry one tear when the intership person with the start-up company dissed me.  I immediately opened the door that was slammed in my face and never looked back.