Last month Spanx-ters spent time volunteering at the Foster Care Support Foundation (FCSF). This month, we checked in with Founder and Executive Director, Rachel Ewald, to see what’s in store for the organization. She also praised Spanx for our support.

“We appreciate all of the efforts from Spanx to help our children have a better life while in foster care. Our mission is to let foster children know that we care about them and see the promise of a better future.

The prom dresses that the Spanx-ters sorted at FCSF will be a wonderful addition when young women come from all over the state for the 10^th annual Prom-A-Palooza. Last year, Spanx donated undergarments to every teen girl, making them feel special inside and out. This February event will enable foster and displaced teen girls to find that perfect dream dress and enjoy going to their high school proms; something most foster teens only dream of. They join with other girls from foster and relative care from throughout the State of Georgia showing them that they are not alone in their situation, giving them improved self-esteem and knowledge that people care.

We also have hundreds of blankets that were sorted and are now ready to be distributed to our youngest victims of child abuse and neglect so they can feel warm and snug this winter because of the help received from Spanx volunteers. Spanx volunteers are an example of what our corporate world can do to help children that have no voice and make their lives a little sweeter through non-profits like Foster Care Support Foundation. We look forward to more opportunities in the near future to help our foster children get a little bit of normalcy as we get closer to Fall. Coming soon will be our first golf Tournament on October 2^nd , our Fashion Show at the Academy of Medicine on November 4^th ,chaired by GA TECH’s first lady Val Peterson and our February’s Prom-A-Palooza followed by our March 16^th All Kids Count Gala.”

Spanx is proud to support this and other organizations that strive to make the world a better place. And to keep the boost going, we helped FCSF in one more way: Chick, a male volunteer-turned-employee who worked with the Spanx-ters, asked about SPANX for Men. We sent him some and he couldn’t be happier. He even shared a photo with us!

The newest SPANX for Men fan!

The Leg Up™ program is Sara’s way of offering up-and-coming business women a big break they deserve. Inspired by the opportunity she received when Oprah named Spanx a “Favorite Thing,” Sara sees Leg Up as her own way to support women’s entrepreneurial endeavors and introduce them to our catalog and web readers.

With our new catalog days away from dropping, and two new recipients being announced, and a call to female entrepreneurs to submit for the next round, we thought it was the perfect time to check in with our previous Leg Up winners and find out how their businesses have been impacted by the program. Here’s what they had to say…

Name: Roseanne Horn

Business: tilibags

Roseanne Horn of Tili Bags

Question: What was the biggest change Leg Up made for your business?

Answer: The awareness of our product was affected dramatically. An entire audience that wasn’t aware of tili before, now was exposed to our product. It was pretty amazing and exciting.

Name: Meredith Restein

Business: Moonrise Jewelry

Meredith Restein of Moonrise Jewelry

Question: What was the biggest change Leg Up made for your business?

Answer: Leg Up gave me the push I needed to open a new retail showroom and studio in Cape Charles, a small beach town near my home on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Since then I’ve hired 4 new part-time employees and our average monthly revenues have increased over 150%. This fall I’ll be training several new jewelry assistants to reproduce my designs as we prepare to exhibit at two international wholesale trade shows in January and expect our production needs to continue growing in the future. Since we’re located in a very small town without many retail businesses, tourists and locals alike are delighted to discover an upscale jewelry boutique where they can get a glimpse “behind the scenes” and watch our products being handcrafted by local women. Several customers have even inquired about franchising Moonrise Jewelry in other states!  Thanks to my Leg Up and the opening of our retail showroom, Moonrise Jewelry has become a real source of local pride as a growing business that will make a positive impact in our economically-challenged community, which ranks among the poorest counties in the state. The ripple effect of my Leg Up® recognition has catalyzed numerous new connections and creative collaborations that I know will propel my business to even greater success in the future and will allow me to attract top-quality talent to the Moonrise Jewelry team.

The Legends of the LPGA Tour (which features Hall of Fame female golfers) teed off with 60 top collegiate players for the first annual Judson Collegiate Invitational & The Legends Tour Atlanta Pro Am. 

Big name champs including Nancy Lopez, Betsy King, Beth Daniel, Lorie Kane, Jan Stephenson, and Rosie Jones participated to help make this an unforgettable event by pairing up with the future leaders of women’s golf.

It was a thrill to see these LPGA pros take time out from their touring schedule to come out and mentor the young girls who admire them. We always love to support women supporting women, so we gave all 170 players SPANX Shaping Certificates for Spanx.com.

Spanx-ter Kenzi (middle) with golf legend Rosie Jones (right) and her caddy Carrie (left).

Riddle:

What’s the difference between a pair of SPANX and a game of golf?

Answer: In golf, it’s good to get a hole in one!