Water changes everything. It certainly changed our perspective here at the Zappos HQ when charity:water founder Scott Harrison spoke at our last All Hands meeting. It inspired tons of Zapponians to do something about the global water crisis. For our 12^th birthday this year, Zappos even set up a charity:water fund to raise money and awareness for this wonderful cause.

Two inspired Zapponians, Pua and Rian, were so moved by the charity:water story, they set up their very own Zappos Team Challenge fund the very next day after the All Hands meeting. Much to their surprise, the fund raised over $2,000 within just 24 hours! To date, the Zappos Team Challenge fund has raised over $6,000 from donations and fundraisers; that’s more than halfway to its $10,000 goal, which is enough to build two wells, providing precious clean water to families in less fortunate communities.

To donate towards solving the global water crisis, go to the Zappos Team Challenge page.

Today marks the 10^th anniversary of International Towel Day in tribute of late author Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. On Towel Day, fans of Adams carry a towel with them all day in reference to the aforementioned book. A few Zapponians paid homage by rocking their towels around the office today.

In addition to carrying their towels today, Zapponians were also encouraged to donate their old towels to Shade Tree.

Happy “Towel Day” Wednesday everyone!

If you got the chance to tune in to the Zappos Family quarterly All Hands meeting a couple of weeks ago, you know that one of our guest speakers was charity:water founder Scott Harrison (inset photo). The inspiring story and ongoing mission of charity:water moved us all to say the least.

Since Zappos is turning 12 years old on June 1^st,  what better way to celebrate twelve amazing years of delivering happiness than by giving up our 12^th birthday for this very worthy cause. What does this mean? Well, in lieu of birthday presents, Zappos is asking its employees, their friends and family, and loyal customers to donate as little as $12 to the Zappos 12^th Birthday charity: water fund.

What can $12 do you ask? A lot! If 1,000 people were to donate just $12 each, we can fund a clean water project for TWO villages of 250 people each. That gives 500 people daily access to clean, safe drinking water, something most of us probably take for granted quite a bit. Help us make this a birthday to remember by making a real difference in the lives of so many people around the world. Every dollar will go towards a clean water project.

To learn about how YOU can do more, check out the charity:water website.

Our Zappos HR advisors held a very unique canned food drive recently to benefit the Three Square food bank. They rallied everyone at Zappos HQ to donate at least three non-perishable food iteams, which is enough to feed one person for a day. But here’s the twist; they also challenged teams of five or more to construct a structure made entirely of canned goods! The bigger the structure, the better because each can goes back to the canned food drive.

In the end, the structures were judged by the advisors team and the top 3 were (drumroll please!):

3^rd place: Zappos Development Direct Marketing team with “Can Desk” (top left)

2^nd place: Zappos Merchandising Clothing Team with “Can Castle” (bottom right)

1^st place: Zappos Merchandising Casual Lifestyle Team with “Can Ugg Boots” (top right)

The top three entries received special hand-made trophies...made of cans of course!

Thanks to everyone that participated in this great event to help support the Three Square food bank. Great job guys!

This past Tuesday was quite an eventful one for us here at the Zappos HQ. To raise money for NCCF (Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation), the Zappos Merchandising, Inc. Culture Club decided to celebrate the lesser known “holiday”: Cinco + Cinco + Siete=17 De Mayo (the 17^th of May).  The team served up some non-alcoholic margaritas and a full nacho bar. For a donation, people were able to try their luck cracking one of the ten piñatas they had on hand.

On top of that, Project Culture also had a Flower-gram Sale to benefit NCCF. People were able to purchase beautiful hand-made flowers to give to their friends in the office while helping raise money for a great cause.  

Putting the “fun” back in fundraiser is what it’s all about!

Given the nice weather during summer, it would be an excellent idea to combine a birthday party with a car wash fundraiser! This is a particularly good idea if your teen is interested in having fun with his or her friends, as well as giving back to a favorite charity. Who knows, this act of generosity may catch on with your teen’s friends, making a real difference within the community.

Here are some top tips for organizing your own Car Wash Party:

• Have your teen decide what charity the donations will go to.
• Call and ask the charity about your plan and what they need. For example, if it is a favorite local library, do they need more books? If it is the humane society, do they need pet care items? Of course, they could always request monetary donations as well.
• In your invitation, explain the aim of the car wash. Ask the guests to bring an adult with a car to the party for washing. Instead of bringing a gift, have the parents pay for their car wash with items that the charity needs or a donation in whatever amount they would like to give.
• Also, ask everyone to dress appropriately for the car wash. They are going to get soapy and a bit wet, so bathing suits, board shorts and flip flops are a good idea!
• Set up in the driveway of your home and place “car wash” signs all over the front yard.
• Have everyone work together to wash the cars thoroughly and in quick time.
• Have a special place for the payments, such as a bucket for cash donations or a large box for items being donated. Decorate this container with the logo of the charity.
• If you want the adults to know a bit more about where their donations are going, provide a flyer with this information as the receipt for the car wash.
• After the car wash is complete, the kids can even hold a water balloon fight!

Hopefully, this idea will catch on since everyone wins: The birthday teen has a fantastic charity in mind to support; everyone gets to work together and have fun washing cars, listening to music and playing water games afterwards, the adults feel good about their donations going to a worthy cause, and, ultimately, the organization benefits from the party. Everyone wins with this party theme, and it is really budget-friendly as well.

*Lisa Kothari is a kids' party planner and expert. Check out her site Peppers and Pollywogs for more fun party ideas!

With the Kentucky Derby only a couple of weeks away, the Best Buddies Kentucky organization is holding a fabulous Derby-inspired fundraiser called High Heels and Hats on Thursday, April 21^st.

This unique event is the first of its kind. It will involve more than 300 participants walking 1 mile wearing their high heels and most creative Derby-style hats around the Westport Village Shopping Complex in Louisville. The walk will be concluded by a brunch and awards ceremony. Some of the awards will go to the highest high heels, best hat and even sexiest guy in heels! This event is definitely a team effort and everyone is welcome. The goal is for teams of nine or more to raise the most funds to get a free breakfast for the entire team sponsored by the Westport Village.

The proceeds of High Heels and Hats will go towards Best Buddies Kentucky, an organization dedicated to helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Some of our Zappos family out in Shepherdsville, KY are participating in this event as well. Our outlet store next to the Zappos Fulfillment Center even hosted a special outlet shopping incentive to help participants find the best heels for the big day.

If you’re in Louisville this Thursday, be sure to support this wonderful event. Whether you participate or just donate to one of the fundraising teams and cheer them on, this is a great cause and a fun, unique way to get into the spirit of Kentucky Derby season!

Today, a few Zapponians decided to do their part to spread some Easter cheer to the kids of the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF). A team of Zapponians came up with the great idea to get some candy and other easter treats and rally the whole office to take a few minutes out of their day to create and personalize Easter bags that will all be given to NCCF.

Who knew we had so many Easter bunnies among us? We hope these colorful Easter bags will bring smiles to the kids’ faces this Easter.