My son had a whale of a first day of first grade at Mitchell Elementary School in Woodbury, CT on August 31. We thought William had told my wife and I every single detail – from the second he hopped on the school bus until the second he hopped off – at least three times that night.
And then, at his school’s open house last week, his teacher, Mrs. Calo, told us about this first-day-of-school project:
Fabulous First Graders are helping the Maritime Aquarium to save the whales. #WhalesForACause #VineyardVines pic.twitter.com/wMwo41ymA1
— Mrs. Calo (@ClubCalo) September 15, 2016
Mrs. Calo told the parents that the kids had fun coloring them in, and were excited to know that they raised $1 for each one they did.
Whales for a Cause was part of a big-picture cause marketing program by apparel and accessories seller Vineyard Vines, and the proceeds went to support the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (which, coincidentally, is right down the road from Multichannel Merchant’s world headquarters).
Through living exhibits, marine science, and environmental education, the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk inspires people of all ages to appreciate and protect the waters of Long Island sound.
Though the Vineyard Vines brand is known across the globe, it’s roots are in Connecticut (well, founded by Greenwich, CT natives Ian and Shep Murray in Martha’s Vineyard, MA, in the late 1990s, but they brought Vineyard Vines’ headquarters back to its hometown, and then to Stamford, CT), on the shore of Long Island Sound. It’s great to see Vineyard Vines not only get involved in cause marketing with something that’s right in their back yard, but to get school-aged kids to be a part of the solution.
Tim Parry is Multichannel Merchant’s Managing Editor.