Every year, Zappos teams up with the NCCF to donate backpacks to 100 children with life threatening illnesses. This year Zappos distributed 271 backpacks to kids in need.

I'll let Jamie N. tell you about!

Here at the KY Fulfillment Center we had the opportunity to give to several families in need by providing children with Zappos backpacks filled with school supplies as well as two new pairs of shoes through our Second Annual Back to School Drive. This drive benefited the Bullitt County Public Elementary Schools. Zappos employees and members of the community donated the school supplies and purchased the shoes through our Outlet Store. Thank you to everyone involved for all the generosity and hard work that went in to making this possible!

Zappos.com pledged to donate 100 backpacks stuffed full of school supplies for the the children of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. However, with the help of Zappos employees, we were able to pack 266 backpacks with everything a child would need to get through the school year.

We're very excited to see their faces when they come to pick them up!

At Zappos, we are excited to be part of Mashable’s Summer of Social Good event to raise funds for The Humane Society, LIVESTRONG, Oxfam America and WWF. The campaign runs from June 1st through August 28th and culminates with the first ever Social Good Conference on August 28th at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. We have proudly sponsored this event so that 100% of funds raised can be donated directly to the charities.

This charity drive is different from others as the entire campaign will be held online and shared through social media tools (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, 12Seconds and Globalgiving). To find out more about the program or to help the cause, please go to Adam Hirsch’s blog, COO of Mashable, or http://summerofsocialgood.com/ and help spread the word!

For the second year in a row, Zappos.com employees got together for the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) Bowl for Kids’ Sake. This is a major fund raiser for BBBS. Bowlers were required to raise $80 in pledges to participate. Zappos.com once again showed its commitment to the employees and community by pledging $60 to each employee that bowled. 34 employees turned out for the event raising $2,732. A Big shout out to Mi K. for being the top fundraiser with $180.

The day was a success! Professional bowlers and some not-so-professional bowlers alike bowled side by side. But, it wasn’t about the highest score; it was about raising money for the kids and having fun at the same time. While most of us barely broke triple digit scores, we all laughed until it hurt!


Pictures and Blog submitted by Sarah J!

On February 28, it was a very cold, windy day. It started snowing and hail began coming down in spurts. Some would say you would be crazy to be out in weather like that, let alone jump into cold water. But there we were, the Zappos Nerds, ready and willing to freeze our butts off for the Special Olympics and the Polar Plunge!

Dressed to the nines in our best geek wear, we set off to raise our funds and take a dip in the frosty Ohio River. Set up next to the Tumbleweed on the River, there were hundreds ready to take a dip. Some had tents, some had RV's, we had our hoodies and towels to keep us warm. After hours in the cold, windy weather, we marched our way down the dock and took our places. We stood proudly as we joined the ranks of other plungers. We jumped, scrambled out the ladders and raced for the hot tubs. After a geeky moment provided by our own Amanda E., we raced for the heated tents and changed into warm, dry clothes. Afterward some went to eat, some went home to sleep it off, and others headed off to party. It was great fun with friends and I know I'll do it again next year!!



written by Tracy P.

photos by Lynn G.

Fun and weirdness was the mood of the day, as team members from the photo department started showing up dressed like nerds. No, they are not strange, just willing participants in the Polar Bear plunge, where the theme for Zappos employees is nerds. They decided to show off their nerdy costumes in all their glory, so everyone could enjoy their hard work in devising their costumes, before they plunged into the bitterly cold Ohio river the next day.

It felt a little like stepping back into a Revenge of the Nerds movie. It also started a round of nerdy laughs and snorts in our startup meeting that would continue throughout the day.

They deserve a special thanks for bringing fun into our day as well as doing something extraordinary for the Special Olympics.



Blog by Lynn G.
Photo By Joon K.
Graphic design by Alex M.

Each month our Customer Loyalty Team participates in activities that work on learning and living each of Zappos core values. This past month they participated in a piggy bank contest that incorporated core value #2 - "Embrace and Drive Change."

Each team built a bank, and then tried to see which team could collect the most change. All the money collected was donated to the Nevada Childhood Caner Foundation. Here is Lauren C. showing how her teams bank works.

Thursday is a big day for Zapponians...it's your chance to help out your fellow man by giving blood!

Zappos.com teams up with United Blood Services for a company-wide blood drive for all employees and their families. And there is a special treat attached to this good deed: If you're signed up to give blood, our Help Desk star Ros will be baking for you! If you sign up for blood donation, Ros will supply you with Cupcakes and her signature Snickerdoodle sandwich cookies to get your energy back up. You can't beat that! Helping out and getting treated to sweet goodness such as this!

Employees are encouraged to bring in family members, but a reminder, anyone giving blood needs to be over 18 years old.

The drive will be from 10:30 AM-3:30 PM in the Shoesite Conference room in the 2290 building. See you there, Zappos!

Pat W. did a little research on what giving blood means to some people at Zappos, check out his premiere video for the Zappos Blogs below.

KY recently raffled off a very nice hand-made entertainment center. Our very own Terry Stone crafted this fine piece of furniture out of solid ash with black walnut accents. The chances were $2 each or 6 for $10. All the proceeds went to our Zinney Jar Fund for charity. We raised $250!!! These funds are distributed to a local charity voted on by our team members here at the Fulfillment Center. In a strange, yet almost predictable, twist of fate Mike B was the lucky one that had his name drawn from the box. Thanks to all of those that bought chances and a big shout out to Terry for making and donating this wonderful item!



If you have a talent such as Terry’s and would like to donate an item to raffle for charity, please contact Stefanie Walls at swalls@zappos.com.

Blog Written by Stefanie W.

In the spirit of giving that this season brings to life, Zappos sold raffle tickets to employees, which dropped their name into the running for winning prizes donated by vendors and our Merchandising Department all through this December. All proceeds were donated to the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. But, some prizes were so special, that they needed to be given away in a silent auction.

There were many fine items up for auction, and here are some highlights of the items sold:

• Performance Gamer Chair-donated by the electronics department
• Two Umbrellas, Autographed and Donated by Rhianna herself
• 1 Night Stay At The Wyndham
• 1 Autographed Wilson Football Signed By Eric Wright Of The San Francisco 49ers

It's Raffle Time again for Zappos! Our wonderful HelpDesk has been announcing the winners of our annual December raffle to benefit the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation. All prizes were donated by our vendors, with items including shoes, watches, sunglasses and a lot more!

Some of the more expensive products will actually be auctioned off later in the month, all going to our charity for 2008.

The Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation works with the medical community to
provide support services and programs to families of children who are diagnosed with a life threatening or critical illness such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell, hemophilia, renal disorders and other immunologic diseases.

All tickets for the raffle were sold to Zappos employees for $1 and the winners are announced by email throughout the day. The prizes are all kept under the front lobby Christmas Tree, see below.

Like the Mayor of Zappos Says:

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!!!!!!!

This month seems to be a "give back" kind of month for Zappos. The Finance team jumped right on that train and volunteered their services to help clean books for Spread the Word Nevada.

The goal of Spread the Word Nevada, is to promote literacy and to make it possible for all of Nevada's children to experience the magic of books. Its flagship program, Kids to Kids distributes books to elementary schools throughout Southern Nevada and has had a profound impact on the lives of thousands of children in Nevada schools.

The Finance team had a blast cleaning books and catching up on their elementary reading. The team made the day a true team bonding event and spent most of the two hours laughing and scrubbing.

Some of the books that were donated weren't always directed at children and we made sure to pull those and giggle about them later.