Cooking Toward A Better Future

Holiday Break

In the midst of all our holiday celebrations, we’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude to each of the winning organizations in the 2011 Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign and the many more who make the holidays and every day brighter for countless individuals in need. Of our 50 winning organizations, 47 received their award in time to enjoy preparing holiday meals with top-quality Princess Heritage® Stainless Steel Cookware — our final three will be presented early in the New Year. With the amount of cooking that goes into the holidays, we know our cookware is being put to very good use, but it’s so nice to hear it from winning organizations like these:

“On behalf of Alexandra House, Inc., I would like to thank you for choosing us as one of 50 winners awarded a set of Princess Heritage Stainless Steel Cookware through your Princess House Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign. Because of your contribution, we are able to serve over 2,700 victims of domestic and sexual violence each year.

“Your generosity represents an investment in our mission and a partnership that we value. We pledge to be worthy of that partnership.

“Again, thank you for your commitment to helping victims of domestic and sexual violence. Because of people like you, Alexandra House can achieve its mission to empower victims of domestic and sexual violence, and inspire social change, through education, support and advocacy.”  
—     Connie Moore, Executive Director of Alexandra House in Blaine, MN

“Thank you for choosing First Light as a campaign winner for your Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign! The cookware is absolutely beautiful and much appreciated by our staff and volunteers. Our volunteers cook and serve around 24,000 meals a year for homeless women and children in Birmingham. This durable cookware will be put to great use!”
—     Shannon Horsley, Volunteer Manager at First Light in Birmingham, AL

 “Just wanted to give a BIG thanks to Princess House for donating an amazing cookware set to our program! We appreciate your work to promote healthy living! Thank you again for your support.”
—     Casa Teresa in Orange, CA

The last thank you was accompanied by this adorable photo of 8-day-old Destiny, one of Casa Teresa’s newest arrivals. We just couldn’t keep the cuteness to ourselves!

We’re taking a break from this blog, but please check back in the spring, when we hope to have more news about the Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign. Wishing you a very happy, healthy 2012 and beyond!

Picture Perfect

Our 2011 Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign award presentations are well under way. Check out the photo album on the left. It includes presentations made around the country, as well as at a special ceremony held in our Home Office in Taunton, MA, for local recipients.

If you’ve attended any of these cookware presentations, we’d love to hear from you. How did it feel to be part of such an important event?

Presenting Corline Cronan’s Family, Inc.

On Friday, Katie Masterson, Sr. Manager of Field Education & Development at the Princess House Home Office, presented a local Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign winner with their new cookware. Corline Cronan’s Family, Inc., in Raynham, MA, offers hot meals, companionship and a friendly place for homeless women and their families on the holidays. Katie nominated this nonprofit organization and shared her personal connection with us:

“When my children were just toddlers, I wanted to teach them about the importance of being thankful for all that they have and giving back to others who are less fortunate. I began taking them on the holidays to help feed the homeless in our area. There, my children and I served food to the less fortunate, washed dishes, packed meals to be delivered and spent time getting to know the people who had nowhere else to go and no one else to be with on what we considered important family days. This experience has left an indelible lifelong impression on me and my children and they talk about particular individuals and conversations they had whenever we see people who are in need. I've heard my children defend the homeless to others who have made disparaging remarks about them, explaining that these people all have feelings and are no different than the rest of us aside from the fact that they don't have enough money to support themselves. The pride I feel when I hear them talk about their experiences is indescribable. This organization and the people it serves have done more for me and my children than we could ever do for them.”  

Katie Masterson (left) presented cookware and a certificate of appreciation to Phyllis Kimball (center) and Laurie Driscoll (right), who are on the Board of Directors of Corline Cronan’s Family, Inc.

Many thanks to Katie and her family, and all those who serve people in need. It’s so important throughout the year, but especially during the holidays. Are you volunteering your time this holiday season? Leave a message here and tell us about it.

So Much More Than Cookware

We recently received a lovely thank you letter from one of the 2011 Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign winners, A New Day, located in Brockton, MA. The organization purchased a new facility in 2009 and completely renovated it to serve as a domestic violence shelter. In the letter, Lenira Peters, Shelter Director, and Marcia Szymanski, Director of Family Health Services, explained so eloquently what a new set of cookware means to the women and families they serve:

“The importance of your donation cannot be understated. Many of the women in our shelter find cooking to be an integral part of their healing, including nurturing their children through the trauma of family violence. Cooking also provides the residents with a way of giving back to others and helps foster a sense of self-worth, which is one thing victims need to regain. In addition, having access to one’s cultural foods during times of stress creates a sense of comfort and security. Having the proper cookware is a key component of this important work. So, for the wonderful donation, we are truly grateful.”

Marcia Szymanski and Lenira Peters accepted A New Day's cookware award during a special ceremony at the Princess House Home Office for local recipients.

I wonder if our product development team ever imagined while they were developing this high-quality cookware line how truly crucial it would be to the well-being of so many. All of us at Princess House are so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the good work A New Day does every day and so thrilled that our cookware is helping to make a difference in their clients' lives. We wish them well in all that lies ahead.

Things We’re Thankful For

There are so many things that make us say THANK YOU this year. Our second-annual Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign was such a success -the whole long-year effort was totally worth it! These numbers speak for themselves:

• 170 nonprofit organizations nominated

• 50 deserving winners

• 50 stainless steel cookware sets valued at up $645 each (that’s over $33,000 worth of cookware!).

Thank you for nominating so many nonprofit organizations and supporting our efforts to spread the word about this wonderful campaign. We’re delighted with the level of participation and genuine interest in making a difference in the lives of others.

And our biggest THANK YOU goes to these organizations that enhance the lives of women and their families across the United States. We’re so pleased to be able to lend a helping hand to them with the gift of cookware.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”

Author Unknown

Hey Winners, Come on Down!

As you all know, we recently chose the nonprofit organizations that will receive one of 50 Princess Heritage^® Stainless Steel Cookware sets as part of our Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign. Well, here at the Home Office, we’re really excited because on Thursday, November 17, we’ll be hosting some of the local organizations (from Massachusetts and Rhode Island) right here in our headquarters!

Welcoming and presenting these organizations with their prizes is a fantastic finish to this year’s campaign. Once again, we want to thank all the people who submitted nominations and extend our most sincere congratulations to these deserving organizations.

Below, you’ll find a list of the organizations attending our November 17 event. A complete list of winners is on our website.

Presentation Event Attendees:

• A New Day, Brockton, MA
• Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center, Pawtucket, RI
• Community Work Services, Boston, MA
• Crossroads Rhode Island, Providence, RI
• Emerson House, Falmouth, MA
• Friends of the Homeless of the South Shore, Inc., Weymouth, MA
• Lazarus House Ministries, Inc., Lawrence, MA
• Southeast Regional Network, Taunton, MA
• Women’s Center of Rhode Island, Providence, RI

We look forward to hosting these organizations next week!

An inspiration to do better

Stefani Shea, Director of Marketing at Princess House, is always working on the best promotional programs for our Customers, Hostesses and sales force. This year, one of the organizations she nominated was selected as a winner and she couldn’t be happier. Here Stefani tells her story:

“Have you ever met someone that just radiated goodness? Made a friend in an instant that you knew would last a lifetime? I have had that honor in meeting and becoming friends with Rev. Susan Chorley.

I was running a 10K race in Cohasset, MA and so was Susan. We were lined up together at the start area and started talking while we waited for the race to begin. We ended up running side by side all the way to the finish. A rare find is a friend who matches your every stride – both literally and figuratively. Even more rare is a friend who inspires you to push harder and do better. Susan is that kind of woman, that kind of friend.

  Rev. Susan Chorley and Stefani the day they met.

Through our friendship, I have come to know about her career as Director of Renewal House, a shelter that provides emergency services to individuals and families escaping domestic violence. I have heard the stories of the families that Renewal House strives to save and to serve. I have listened to her explain the importance of advocacy, community building and restorative justice. I have come to know her joy in helping others, and her struggle to maintain the funding that allows Renewal House to keep its doors open and its clients protected.

It was a pleasure for me to nominate Renewal House for the Cooking Toward a Better Future campaign, and an honor to see it selected as a winner. I am so pleased to see that the work of Renewal House has inspired the members of the CTABF committee, just as the leader of Renewal House has inspired me.

Thank you for sharing, Stefani. We love to hear our nominators and winners organizations experiences. Please continue to check back for updates about the cookware presentations!

Twice the honor

All our Cooking Toward a Better Future winners have been announced. We just finished reaching out to those who will present our professional-quality Princess Heritage® Stainless Steel Cookware Sets and arrange delivery.to these non-profit organizations that help meet a basic need in their area. The reactions of those who nominated winner organizations have been amazing; they are so happy to be able to give back to their communities.

“I feel fortunate that the organization I nominated was selected and that I was chosen to present our great cookware to them. The girls at the St. Agnes Home have always been close to my heart. These young mothers are taught basic cooking skills and now they will learn with new and beautiful cookware,” said Edie Markiewicz, a Princess House Organizer.

“Sometimes we have good intentions but don’t act on them, all I did was send a few nominations, and Princess House did the rest. And I’m going to send more nominations next year. I’m so thankful to be part of Princess House. We work hard to make a difference in the lives of many people, in this case through the gift of great cookware.”

Cooking Toward a Better Future winners as we start to deliver cookware awards. Check back here for updates.

Congratulations to our 2011 Campaign Winners!

At long last! Our 50 Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign winners have been selected. Check out the full list here. Each of the winning nonprofit organizations will be contacted in the next couple of weeks to choose a cookware set and arrange delivery. How exciting to be able to offer these deserving organizations quality cookware just before the holidays!

Did you nominate one of our winning organizations? We’d love to hear from you! Please post a comment below and continue to check back each week for updates and photos from our cookware presentations.

Getting Closer and Closer …

The final announcement of our 2011 Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign winners is just around the corner. To hold you over, here’s a little bit about task force member Michelle Dias, Traffic Supervisor in charge of importation of products from other countries.

 

 Michelle, with Princess House President Tim Brown, accepting her
Years of Service Award during our 2010 company outing.

I’ve worked at Princess House for over 26 years. During this time, I’ve worked in different departments and with many different groups of employees both in the Home Office in Taunton, MA, and in our Distribution Center in Rural Hall, NC. Joining the Cooking Toward A Better Future task force this year has given me the opportunity to get to know even more of my co-workers. 

 

Our Mission is to provide life-enhancing opportunities to people from all walks of life. The Cooking Toward A Better Future campaign is a great way for Princess House to give back to our communities. Many of the 170 nominations we received came directly from our independent consultants, hostesses, customers and employees, which makes me especially proud.

 

There are so many deserving nonprofit organizations that help their clients take steps toward rebuilding their lives. Reviewing all of the nominations to determine the winners for this year’s campaign has been the biggest challenge for me as a task force member. Our nomination forms ask why the organization is important to the person submitting the nomination and these touching stories make me want to choose all of them as winners. I hope that this campaign continues for years to come, so that every nonprofit organization has a chance to win.