Celebrating Neuro-Diversity is a benefit to help support 6 children who were nominated by their family and friends.  All of these children have a Neurological Disorder.  This year the common denominator is that each one of the children are on the Autism Spectrum.  The funds that will be raised will be split evenly and go to the children to help pay medical bills, pay for the help of an aide and/or send the child to a summer camp for children with special needs.

To purchase tickets, make a donation or be a part of the raffle/auction please visit the Neuro-Diversity Website.

The coolest thing about The Enterprising Kitchen is that they provide workforce development and support services to women who are working toward self-sufficiency and economic independence. Within the context of a business where they manufacture natural soaps and spa products, women receive intensive workforce preparation and skills development including: paid employment, work and life skills training, individualized career planning, high school equivalency preparation, technology training, financial planning and a variety of other support services. Located in Chicago, the enterprise enables lower-income women who have been unemployed and underemployed to maximize their individual potential and move into sustainable employment after 6-12 months.

Only the finest ingredients and purest essential oils are used to ensure the best experience and value for customers. All products are manufactured in small batches onsite at the Chicago facility and each piece is signed by the woman who packages it. The Enterprising Kitchen represent the renewed ability for women participants to make better choices on the road to self-sufficiency as well as the opportunity for customers to choose to purchase these exceptional natural products, which directly support women. The Enterprising Kitchen is a member of the Fair Trade Federation. TEK products are sold in over 300 stores across the U.S., online and at TEK’s Chicago facility.

A few months back we were lucky enough to get a tour of the facility and meet some of the truly exceptional women who work on these amazing spa products.  It really is wonderful to walk through and see everything being made from scratch, smell the oils and sample to goods.  We had the hardest time choosing which item to put in the CS swag bag.  The body butter is as soft as silk and I swear you would love the bath salts but in the end we decided on the cold pressed soaps.  They smell amazing, last forever and really reflected the concept and image we wanted to present … “Wash away your worries with Greatest Expectations”.

Here are some pictures of The Enterprising Kitchen’s products.  If you are lucky enough to be attending the CS event please let us know how our give away measures up! 

Ok really, honestly, I feel like I know someone famous!! Teresa from Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique is a vendor we work with all the time (if you are an active reader of this blog you will know her name)!!  They make the most amazing cupcakes and while I have worked with Teresa since she first started doing special events cupcakes, she is now the owner of a fantastic little shop in the Loop and they are a smash success!!  Sugar Bliss does cupcakes for all types of events. We even used them for my four year olds birthday party last year (to the delight and enjoyment of the adults so relieved not to be eating a cupcake from Jewel).

She was invited to the White House for the signing of an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Below is the press release from The White House and also Teresa’s press release.  You can read even more directly from The White House.

President Obama today signed an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. The mission of the Council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families. The Council will be chaired by Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor, and will include as members cabinet-level federal agencies. The Executive Director of the Council will be Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House.

“The purpose of this Council is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy,” said President Obama. “My Administration has already made important progress toward that goal. I am proud that the first bill I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. But I want to be clear that issues like equal pay, family leave, child care and others are not just women’s issues, they are family issues and economic issues. Our progress in these areas is an important measure of whether we are truly fulfilling the promise of our democracy for all our people. I am confident that Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen will guide the Council wisely as its members address these important issues.”

The White House Council on Women and Girls will ensure that agencies across the federal government, not just a few offices, take into account the particular needs and concerns of women and girls. The Council will begin its work by asking each agency to analyze their current status and ensure that they are focused internally and externally on women.

In particular, the Council will work to enhance, support and coordinate the efforts of existing programs for women and girls. The Council will also work as a resource for each agency and the White House so that there is a comprehensive approach to the federal government’s policy on women and girls. The priorities will be carried out by working closely with the President’s Cabinet Secretaries and relevant agency offices that focus on women and families.

During its first year, the Council will also focus on the following areas:

• Improving women’s economic security by ensuring that each of the agencies is working to directly improve the economic status of women.
• Working with each agency to ensure that the administration evaluates and develops policies that establish a balance between work and family.
• Working hand-in-hand with the Vice President, the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women and other government officials to find new ways to prevent violence against women, at home and abroad.
• Finally, the critical work of the Council will be to help build healthy families and improve women’s health care.

The White House Council on Women and Girls will meet regularly, and will serve as a forum for all involved agencies to focus on women.

Sugar Bliss Press Release

(CHICAGO) -Teresa Ging, the entrepreneur and baker behind Chicago’s fresh new Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, was a guest at the White House on Wednesday, March 11, invited to take part in President Obama’s signing of an executive order to create a White House Council on Women and Girls.

Ging, a bright and savvy businesswoman who launched her first retail location in the Chicago Loop just two months ago, was in excellent company at the event, a celebration of International Women’s History Month. She was surrounded by senators, representatives and governmental advisors as well as the nation’s top female corporate and entrepreneurial talent, all chosen to attend for their exemplary work and achievements. 

The new Council on Women and Girls comprises heads of every Cabinet and Cabinet-level agency. “Its purpose is very simple: to ensure that each of the agencies in which they’re charged takes into account the needs of women and girls in the policies they draft, the programs they create, the legislation they support,” President Obama said in his address. He appointed former Chicagoan and senior administrator Valerie Jarrett to lead the council. Tina Tchen, another senior member of the White House staff, is the council’s executive director.

Ging knows well the career challenges women face; she successfully overcame hurdles of her own. Ging left a career in finance in 2006 to attend Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie program in Paris; when she returned to Chicago, she decided to pursue her entrepreneurial dream. “Because I was a woman, with a single income, a minority, and starting a business at a younger age, I faced obstacles at all stages of starting my business. But I just kept pushing forward and focusing on my goal…to ultimately open my own business and be successful.” 

Ging’s spirit and determination were acknowledged in Jarrett’s speech at the White House. “We are also joined by a successful small-business owner, Teresa Ging, the owner of Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, from our hometown of Chicago. Teresa was helped along the way by the federally funded Women’s Business Development Center with counseling and financing,” Jarrett noted in her address.

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique opened its first retail location in January 2009. The inviting, sophisticated shop at 115 N. Wabash Ave., between Macy’s and Millennium Park, serves fresh specialty cupcakes baked from scratch daily in the kitchen on-site, using only high quality, natural ingredients such as European cocoa, Nielsen Massey Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, and real strawberries, bananas and other fruit. Every extra-moist cupcake is decorated with the Sugar Bliss bloom, a blossom of rich, creamy frosting topped with a signature dot

The always-new menu includes breakfast cupcakes each morning and the famous Sugar Bliss frosting shot, a small cup with a Bliss bloom inside. Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique also offers mini cupcakes, 6-inch custom cakes, cupcake tiers, custom-colored frosting, cupcakes with custom logos and party-favor boxes. Guests can pair any treat with Sugar Bliss Signature Blend coffee, GuS Soda, milk, hot chocolate, tea or bottled water.  

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique continues to offer delivery and catering services as well. Ging launched the catering and delivery side of the business in October 2007 and has expanded her client base with corporate customers, hotels, event and wedding planners and catering companies. Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique also has participated in a variety of local charity events, including Great Chef’s Tasting (United Cerebral Palsy) and Shopping for Wishes (Make-A-Wish Foundation), and will continue to contribute to Chicago charitable organizations. 

Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique is located at 115 N. Wabash Ave., at the intersection of Washington Street and Wabash in the Chicago Loop. Store hours are 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Below is Teresa at The White House and a picture of the beautiful cupcakes she made for the  Inauguration.

Brides will receive luxurious, Oscar-style swag bags filled with extraordinary gifts (Greatest Expectations has partnered with The Enterprising Kitchen for our extra special treat in the swag bag).

Thank you to CS Brides for allowing us to give away  free, VIP tickets to two of our lucky Brides and their guests!

We looking forward to seeing you there!

Proceeds to benefit the Breast Cancer Network of Strength.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

6pm-9pm.

Space is limited.

RSVP required by March 13th.

312-274-2508

Purchase tickets by going to www.csbrides.com

I received an email from a good friend of mine who was contacted by her local school district (Plainfield).  This is what the school sent out:

“The economy will make it very difficult for some high school girls to be able to afford prom dresses and take part in this special high school event. To that end, the Plainfield South High School Student Council will be collecting gently used promor bridesmaids  dresses in the school commons from 3:30-6 p.m. on February 26 and March 5, 2009. Check out your kids’ closets – or your own – and make a donation. The dresses will be given to the Prom n’ Aide program. Kudos to the PSHS Student Council for supporting this initiative.”

We will be collecting dresses at our office if you would like to donate anything to this fantastic cause.  The deadline for the Plainfield  donation is March 5th but you can donate to the following organizations throughout the year.

You may also consider a donation to one of these two fantastic organizations that provide the same type of service. 

The Glass Slipper Project is another local Chicago organization.  They are not only looking for dress donations but volunteers for the Prom Boutique where the girls “shop” for their dresses.  This is an excellent opportunity to get involved and give back!

The Princess Project is a website that has combined resources to help you find an organization close to you!