What is Shop to Stop?

Shop to Stop Breast Cancer is an event like no other – it’s a fundraiser that’s FREE!!!

How is this event Free? Your contribution (minimum of $50) which guarantees your entrance into the Shop is returned to you in the form of “Inland Agency Bucks”.

The Shop itself consists of a wide range of items – from Baby Gifts to Collectibles (think vintage items!) to electronics to housewares to purses to jewelry – too many good things to list. Even better, all of the items in the shop are a GREAT deal – a good shopper will leave with items that exceed the donation amount.

Why Shop? All donations to this event go to Inland Agency’s Breast Health Program which is one of the few providers of free mammograms to women under 40 in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Plus, the Shop is fabulous, it is always well stocked (think Designer Purses, Awesome Gift Baskets, Original Artwork…again, I could go on and on.)

How did I get involved? Well, I will name two people – Jan Green and Sue Mitchell. These dynamite women recruited me to become involved with Inland Agency and eventually Co-Chair of the event, and I can proudly say that in 2007 the event raised over $40,000, and in 2008 we raised over $60,000. How cool is that?

Where do we get the Shop items? The primary source of the Shop inventory is from community donations through our re-gifting campaign. Basically, we seek out donations from the Riverside/San Bernardino Community by simply asking our community to clean sweep unused items from their closets - you know the gifts from well-intentioned friends/family that are just, shall we say, “Not you”? We also get a good deal of donations from restaurants, local businesses, and theme parks, etc.

I intend to use this blog as my means to be the cheerleader for Shop to Stop Breast Cancer 2009 – we are already off to a great start with sponsorships, but we can always use more help such as (1) re-gift items for the shop; (2) donations to Sponsor the Event; (3) donations to shop (go to www.inlandagency.org to reserve your entry and shopping bucks!); and (4) good word of mouth – encourage your friends to donate by re-gifting or by planning to shop on Monday, March 30, 2009 – or even better BOTH!!!

I hope you enjoy as I share the journey to Shop to Stop Breast Cancer 2009 on this blog. Stay Tuned… - Rina