The Finishing Touch

Blinds.com Gives Backpacks & School Supplies to Children in Need

**Plus, why SMB’s should encourage employees to participate in community service together.

We remember what it was like to go back to school. Who didn’t want that perfect backpack, plus every item on the school supply list? When we found out how many children in Houston were without these essentials, we took action. The YMCA of Greater Houston is a hub for helping children. Its fabulous and well-run community centers and programs make it a great place to get involved. Needless to say, we were delighted to learn about Operation Backpack, an organization that collects backpacks, lunchboxes, and school supplies for children in need.

We began by setting up drop-off points at both Blinds.com offices.

 

Within 1 week, we had over 60 FILLED backpacks! Yes, each one was filled with all the supplies on the list. It was time to make the drop, but not before taking a group photo.

 

Sarah, Shannon, Ana, and I piled into the car, backpacks in tow, and made our way to the YMCA Houston on Stella Link. This is an unbelievable new building, with tons of fun activities for kids and parents.

We were greeted by a wonderful volunteer, Marvin.

We were also warmly received by YMCA Houston Executive Director Brandy Perryman (who was one of the coolest names EVER). He helped us carry bags in, posed for pictures with us, and couldn’t wait for Blinds.com to participate in more community programs.

Why This Matters

A recent Watson Wyatt survey suggests that “highly engaged employees miss 20 percent fewer days of work and are almost 80 percent more likely to be top performers. About 75 percent of them exceed or far exceed expectations in their most recent performance review. These workers also tend to be more resilient to, and supportive of, organizational change initiatives.”

Having engaged employees in your organization leads to enhanced performance by the organization as whole. As employees feel more attached to the company’s mission and vision, they begin to feel loyalty. Issues like children’s education enhance attachment to the organization when staff are encouraged to get involved.

When employees participate in community causes as a group, it helps them understand that their performances are directly connected to the company’s performance. By encouraging them to work together in the name of charity, camaraderie is established and professional connectedness develops. Not every business has an extensive bankroll to donate large amounts. Instead of cutting a big check, make an impact through the workplace by getting everyone involved with an ongoing program or special project like Operation Backpack. This requires very little money or time, and makes a real impact.

Watson Wyatt calls these “engagable moments,” and they equal a win-win for the organization, and the community. We encourage you to get your company behind a great cause. It will stimulate everyone’s creativity and drive. You might even have a little fun.

P.S. - Follow Blinds.com on Twitter for more on our commitment to social action.

Blinds.com Partners with Mommy Bloggers to Promote Child Safety

Blinds.com and Amber, blogger for Miracles on Mama Street have teamed up to raise awareness for window blind safety. After a family in her community suffered the tragic loss of one of their children due to unsafe window blinds, Amber decided to take matters into her own hands. She immediately replaced all of her corded window treatments with cordless ones. She also told everyone in her network about the dangers of having out-of date blinds and shades in their homes. They also replaced all of their dangerous treatments with safe ones.

Amber realized that it still wasn’t enough, and that there were so many more people she could be reaching. She contacted us here at Blinds.com, and her cause touched our hearts.

Amber is reaching thousands of other mommy bloggers as well as parents dedicated to child safety. Please join the crusade to end senseless deaths like this by ensuring that your home is well equipped with safe window treatments, and that your neighbors’ homes are as well.

To make it financially possible for parents to replace dangerous, Blinds.com is offering 10% off our top rated and most popular product, the Blinds.com 3/8” Light Filtering Cellular Shade, when ordered with the cordless option. Simply use code “Mommy” at checkout.

To read Amber’s full account, visit her blog, Miracles on Mama Street, and support our efforts to increase awareness. Grab the button on the top left of her site, link to her post, and/or pass the 10% savings on to family and friends.  

Help us avoid heartbreak, and protect our children.

Sincerely,

Follow Amber and me on Twitter for updates and information regarding this special promotion.

The 2010 Blinds.com Drapery Line Refresh is Here!

The brand new patterns and colors for the 2010 collection of the Thomas Kinkade Drapery Line from Blinds.com are finally here! 80 new fabrics launched today, and many of the old fabrics remain (don’t worry!). The designers chose carefully to select the most gorgeous, in style fabrics; the new collection truly marries fashion with interior design.

It's Window Treatment Safety Week, How Are You Protecting Your Kids?

More than 140 children have died in the United States since 1981 by strangulation from window treatment cords, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). It is easy to make today's window treatments safer for young children with just a few simple adjustments, to prevent these tragic accidents.

Cribs and furniture should not be placed near a window.
Even if you have child guards on the windows, young children are tempted to investigate cords dangling from window treatments. Since young children climb, never put a chair or other object near a window with a dangling cord.

Q & A: Tom Rodgers, Green Team Leader at Springs Window Fashions

If you knew there was an easy, inexpensive way to shrink your carbon footprint, would you do it? That’s what Springs Window Fashions, makers of Bali and Graber blinds and shades, is helping customers do with window treatments. Tom Rodgers heads up the Green Team at SWF. Kind of sounds like the Superfriends of green living, doesn’t it? But that’s really what they call themselves; they’re a team of managers workings towards real solutions for everything from cleaner, more efficient manufacturing to helping their outside sales representatives use less fuel. SWF’s Green by Nature campaign focuses on continual examination and upgrades to eco-manufacturing practices, surpassing government standards of eco-building every year, and providing affordable, eco-friendly products to consumers.  

After reading about all of the great things SWF is doing to help the environment, I had to find out the intimate details from the man himself, Tom Rodgers. I hope you’ll find what he had to say as remarkable as I did.  

Inventive Roller Shades Create Skylines Using Natural Light

How fabulous are these? Finnish Interior Designer Elina Aalto launched A Better Blind, a line of black, perforated roller shades that resemble city skylines. Each shade is custom made by hand and reflects a unique view of a major international city. The shades are functional, blocking most light and UV rays, as all roller shades do. Below you'll see Helsinki and Tokyo:

7 Things You Need to Know NOW About Cutting Energy Costs with Window Treatments

In spite of the “greenwashing” going on these days, it is critical that we call attention to the things we can do here and now to cut energy costs and generally use less. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to save some money, would it? Let’s face it, green terminology can be very confusing. R-value, u-factor, detrimental energy loss… it’s often difficult to decipher what all of this means. For starters, visit EcoHome Magazine . It is a wonderful resource, filled with easy-to-understand information and tips you can use to make your home more energy efficient. In regards to window treatments specifically, here are some things you absolutely have to know to make good, environmentally conscious decisions when outfitting your abode: 

Home Decor + Fashion = LUV

Check our Dierde Kelly's great article about the Interior Design Show in Toronto which starts today. It's going to be a stellar event. Dierde's article focuses on the "style revolution" that has emerged from the symbiotic relationship between fashion and interior design. There's a lot of interesting info in it about how the style of your home reflects you, as a person, as much as what you wear does. Read her article here!

Trending Towards Brightly Colored Window Treatments in 2009

Though whites, off-whites, and standard wood stains will never lose their appeal in decorator and designer circles, a noticeable rebirth in color is making its way into traditional window treatment trends. Draperies have always been a popular way to add color to a room, as have roman shades, but shoppers are beginning to notice that blinds can make a similar impact. No longer do designers and homeowners feel restricted to using traditional window treatment colors. Many products are available in a myriad of shades, and window treatments are a fun (and temporary, if necessary) way to creatively add a burst of personality to a room. Those who gravitate towards muted beiges and off-whites are tossing green or yellow blinds into the mix to liven up existing décor. Cellular shades, aluminum blinds, pleated shades and roller shades offer the most color choices, though we are beginning to see wood and fauxwood blinds in distinctive hues.

 

Shock and Sadness Following the Strangulation Death of Child by Window Treatments

This morning, it was reported that a one-year-old girl from Greenwich, Conn. became tangled in the corded Roman shades that hung above her playpen. The blinds were purchased from an Ikea Store, and have officially been recalled. If you own IRIS and ALVINE Roman blinds, manufactured in India and distributed by IKEA Home Furnishings, purchased between July 2005, and July 2008, please return them to your nearest Ikea for a full refund.

For more details, read the release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. You  can also report a dangerous product or a product-related injury by calling CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visiting CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html.

Although the topics here are usually light, this issue is near and dear to my heart, as I have seen first-hand the dangers of window treatments, and want to help in any way I can by sharing all the information I have. Accidents such as this should make us even more vigilant about keeping our children as safe as possible, and staying as informed as possible about the dangers of corded blinds. MAKE SURE your window treatments meet safety standards put forth by Window Covering Safety Council and that you take all necessary precautions. Purchase cordless blinds and shades or make sure corded blinds have safety features that are available on custom-made products. Purchase shutters for all of your windows, which never have cords and are virtually indestructible.

Blinds.com employs in-house safety experts who are waiting to speak to you about how to child-proof your windows. Most of our experts not only have over a decade of experience helping parents determine the best choices, but are also parents themselves and have the products they recommend hanging in their homes. Let’s eliminate heartbreak like this by only installing the safest window treatments possible. Our children deserve it.

Sincerely,

More window treatment safety information:

Blinds.com detailed safety information

Blinds.com information regarding lead paint in window blinds and shades

Parents for Window Blind Safety