Happy Birthday, Jen Levinson (aka Jen’s List)

October 7, 2011 By 1 Comment

Today, I’m using my blog to wish a dear friend Happy Birthday!

Many of you living Los Angeles may subscribe to her daily emails – Jen’s List.  If you don’t, you should.  Go here to do so, now!

Jen’s List provides subscribers with tips, tricks and leads on all things relevant to life in SoCal.  You’ll find nanny leads.  Recipes.  Ideas for ways to get your kids to eat healthier.  Houses for rent.  Houses for sale.  Computer experts.  Community fundraisers.  The list (pun intended) goes on and on.

Besides being an amazing resource for many people, she is also an incredibly generous person.  She uses her power wisely.  For example, she chooses to help a lot of non-profits and organizations in need by helping to spread the word about their fundraisers.

And, then, there’s Kristy Kaplon.  Kristy, a young mom of a darling toddler, and pregnant with twins, lost her husband who was tragically shot and killed by an acquaintance.  Jen has been instrumental in helping to organize many fundraisers on behalf of the Kaplon family.  The one we did through Fresh Brothers together was very successful.

Again, helping Kristy is just one of the many amazing philanthropic efforts that Jen takes on.  She’s just incredible.

And, oh, I forgot to mention this – she is the mom of five kids!  She has two sets of identical boy twins, too.

So Happy Birthday, my friend!  You are an inspiration to me.

XO

Find Jen on Twitter:  @JenLevinson

Website:  www.JensList.com

Filed Under: Marketing and Branding, The Giving Effect Tagged With: , , ,

Kristy Kaplon

April 15, 2011 By 30 Comments

On Tuesday, April 12th, we held a giant fundraiser at two Fresh Brothers locations (Westlake & Calabasas)  benefiting the Kaplon family.

On March 17th, Brian Kaplon, a young father and husband, was shot and killed by a friend.   Brian’s wife, Kristi, is a mom to two and half year-old daughter, Kloe.  She is also expecting twins in May.  One of the most difficult parts of this story to digest is the fact that the Kaplon’s had no life insurance.  Brian had applied for it, but he was killed before the application could be fully processed.

My friend, Jen Levinson, is Kristi’s cousin and is one of her dear friends.  (Jen is mom to five kids – four of those are twins!)   I learned about what happened to the Kaplan family through Jen.  I could not help but be sickened, saddened and concerned about Kristi, Kloe and the babies.  As a mother of twins, I could not fathom enduring parenthood to baby twins without a spouse.  I had a tough time.  I’m not sure who doesn’t when you have two babies at once!  Jen approached us about doing a fundraiser for the Kaplon’s and we immediately said yes.

It was a beautiful day.  Both stores were insanely busy, but it was well worth the extra effort.  Our staff kicked it into high gear and worked their butts off to make sure the day went smoothly.

I didn’t take any pictures, it didn’t seem right.  But Kristi and Kloe were both there.  People were dining outside on long communal tables.  There was a lot of love and laughter surrounding Kristi and Kloe.  KCBS and KCAL came out to talk with Kristi.  Hopefully the additional media coverage helped channel extra donations for the family.

We raised $2500 for the Kaplon family.  We donated 20% back of all sales from both locations that day.  I am so thrilled that we were able to do this for this young family who is struggling to stay afloat during this difficult time.

As a business owner, as a mother, as a wife, I’m proud that we were able to bring our community together to help this mom out.  Thank you to all who helped us make this happen!

If you would like to make a contribution on behalf of the Kaplon family, please click on this link:  https://sites.google.com/site/kristikaplon/home?pli=1

 

Filed Under: The Giving Effect Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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