Coastal.com Crowdsourced Charity Initiative Kicks Off Customer-Driven Fundraising Efforts: Coastal.com, the planet?s biggest online eyewear company, recently partnered with online fundraising site, Crowdrise.com, to kick off the company?s first crowdsourced charity drive this year?encouraging Coastal.com?s customers to raise money for charities that are near and dear to their hearts. Customers were asked to submit their favorite charity to raise money for, and they did not disappoint. With over 2,000 charities submitted, Coastal narrowed down the list to the Top 10, encouraging customers to give what they could, with the company matching donations over $50. In total, the campaign?which ran from January 26th through February 5th, raised over $26,000 for the charities including $5,000 to the charity that raised the most money. Today, Coastal.com announced the winner, Wild Baby Rescue Center, a New Jersey-based non-profit organization dedicated to caring for injured and orphaned wildlife.
Vergrößern Coastal.com Crowdsourced Charity Initiative Kicks Off Customer-Driven Fundraising Efforts | Bild: © Phecs

?As a company, we think it?s important to support individual charitable efforts in addition to Coastal.com?s own Change The View Project,? said Aaron Magness, VP Marketing. ?We wanted to encourage people to start the year off with giving in mind, rather than waiting until December when it becomes more of a tax write-off. Therefore, we encouraged them to set their eyes on something big this year. It was exciting for us to be able to tap into our customers and see where their passions lie?they were more than generous and really got into the spirit of giving.?

The top 10 charities included in the campaign were: Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary, a place for kids, MORNINGSTAR MISSION, CHERUBS, Wild Baby Rescue Center, Barks of Love Animal Rescue, Wounded Warrior Project, World Vision, Food For The Poor, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Upon hearing the news Wild Baby Rescue Center had raised the most donations and won an additional $5,000 from Coastal.com, Hope Kosch-Davison, Founder and Executive Director, said ?Wild Baby Rescue Center saw a record-breaking 661 injured and orphaned wild babies in 2011. This donation will help us care for this growing number of babies?from purchasing formula to building more pre-release caging. What a wonderful way to start the year!?

In addition to supporting various global causes, such as BCA, Coastal.com provides eyeglasses to people around the world who are suffering from visual impairment and unable to obtain eyeglasses by their own means through its Change The View Project. For every pair of participating designer frames purchased, a second pair of eyeglasses is donated to someone in need.

About Coastal.com:

Coastal.com (www.coastal.com) is the planet?s biggest online eyewear company. Coastal empowers customers to easily browse, try on and buy eyewear?saving time, money and sanity. At Coastal, we believe you will be so blown away by the Coastal experience and become a customer for life that your first pair of glasses is free. With every pair purchased, Coastal donates a pair to someone in need through its Change the View project. Founded in 2000, Coastal designs, produces and distributes the largest selection of eyeglasses and contact lenses on the Internet, including a unique combination of designer eyeglasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, and vision care accessories. Coastal services customers in more than 150 countries through the Coastal Contacts family of websites including: Coastal.com, ClearlyContacts.ca, Lensway.com, Lensway.co.uk, Lensway.se, ClearlyContacts.com.au, ClearlyContacts.co.nz, Contactsan.com, and Coastallens.com.