Posts Tagged ‘social good’

Saving A Heart on Valentine’s Day

February 12th, 2018

Valentine’s Day creates time and space to reflect on those that we love. We are taking one more step towards love and compassion this year. This Valentine’s Day, we are sponsoring a child to receive life-saving heart surgery. Learn more about the loving soul we sponsored below and how his outlook on life has completely transformed in the most positive way.

Background of our Involvement

Dr. Rick Hodes - Saving a Heart on Valentine's Day

Source: Rickhodes.org/about

Throughout the years, we’ve connected with Dr. Rick Hodes who is an American doctor who has dedicated nearly 30 years of his life serving the underprivileged in Ethiopia. Dr. Rick Hodes is a CNN Hero and JDC’s Medical Director. Dr. Rick Hodes mainly treats spine, cardiac, and cancer patients. We’ve been privileged enough to donate over the years to give back and help save lives through Dr. Rick Hodes’ work. Dr. Rick Hodes sends his patients from the Mother Teresa Clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to either India for cardiac surgery or to Ghana for spinal surgery. In India, heart surgery is about 10% of the price in the United States.

Samson - Saving a Heart on Valentine's Day

Whoever Saves a Life, Saves the World

Samson, pictured above, is the boy we sponsored to receive a life-saving heart surgery. He arrived in Dr. Rick Hodes’ care at age 10 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was born in Wello province, however his dad, a policeman, was transferred to Addis Ababa. When Samson arrived to the clinic, he was tired and weak. Samson was diagnosed as having a ventricular septal defect (VSD). VSD is a hole between the 2 ventricles of the heart. Untreated, it would lead to death. In Samson’s case, the blood flow between the 2 ventricles was revering and going from left to right (expected) to both directions (which is not supposed to happen). This would soon become irreversible. He needed corrective surgery as soon as possible. Dr. Rick Hodes put him on Viagra 3x daily to lower his pressures, and the shunt reverted to left-to-right. This gave a window of surgical opportunity.

Samson was sent to India, along with a dozen other heart patients. Samson underwent surgery to repair his heart at AIMS Amrita Hospital in Kochi, India. The surgery went well and he returned to Ethiopia after his recovery. Samson is now going to school and playing with his friends. Samson would love to play soccer and become an engineer when he grows up.

How Can You Help this Valentine’s Day?

Donate Now - Saving a Heart on Valentine's Day
Instead of buying a gift, consider making a donation on behalf of your loved one for Valentine’s Day. You can help a patient get closer to having a healthy heart. The JDC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax-deductible. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! We hope you spend your day with someone (or a cause) that you love.

Backdrops Beautiful Gives Back | A Time For Heroes 2016

November 9th, 2016

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF) has quickly become one of our favorite organizations with an incredible annual event that raises awareness for pediatric aids.  The EGPAF annual event, ‘A Time for Heroes’ Family Festival  was filled with fun, games, and celebrity heroes. Some good old fashioned face painted was also involved. This incredibly meaningful event was held at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA. We love giving back to a great cause. Check out some of the images from this wonderful event below.

ATFH 2016 - Lab Interior 2

With the event being so close to Halloween, it was so much fun to be a part of this Mad Science area of the event. Our Lab Interior backdrop was featured as the background to an exciting plethora of activities. The skeleton below was quite the complement to our hand-painted backdrop. This part of the event was completely transformed into an spooky interior of a laboratory. Kids and adults alike had so much fun at this remarkable event.

ATFH 2016 - Lab Interior 2

Check out these awesome professional images from the event below. Hint: you may recognize some of these celebrity heroes! We already cannot wait for the #ATFH2017 event to take place next year!

CULVER CITY, CA - OCTOBER 23: Entrepreneur and model Heidi Klum attends Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation "A Time For Heroes" Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

CULVER CITY, CA – OCTOBER 23: Entrepreneur and model Heidi Klum attends Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation “A Time For Heroes” Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

CULVER CITY, CA - OCTOBER 23: A general view as seen at Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation "A Time For Heroes" Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

CULVER CITY, CA – OCTOBER 23: A general view as seen at Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation “A Time For Heroes” Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

CULVER CITY, CA - OCTOBER 23: Katee Sackhoff attends Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation "A Time For Heroes" Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

CULVER CITY, CA – OCTOBER 23: Katee Sackhoff attends Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation “A Time For Heroes” Family Festival at Smashbox Studios on October 23, 2016 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation)

Backdrops at #SafeKidsDay at Smashbox Studios in LA!

April 26th, 2016

We had the privilege of being a sponsor for the #SafeKidsDay event in Los Angeles. This charity fundraiser created by Simply Troy was a star-studded event to raise awareness for Safe Kids Worldwide. Safe Kids Worldwide is, “a global organization dedicated to preventing injuries in children, the number one killer of kids in the United States.” We were honored to provide our hand-painted backdrops for the event.

Jungle Animals 3 Backdrop

The basketball event at the #SafeKidsDay Event was SO much fun. Our Spectator backdrop let everyone feel as if they were center stage for their NBA Playoff debut. The stadium is packed and the crowd is cheering! All of the spectators are vying for a picture of their favorite players. The basketball event created an opportunity for all of the attendees to feel like a professional athlete for a day. We love how it turned out.

Spectator 9 Backdrop

This City Streets backdrop is not your average street. Think of that favorite part of any neighborhood that makes you smile. The vibrant colors and the animated essence of the backdrop create a fun and playful atmosphere. We loved the look of this backdrop with the colorful accents of the tables and umbrellas. This showed us that you truly can never go wrong with bold colors.City Streets 2 Backdrop

Our Pop Art Duck backdrop provided an instant burst of vibrancy, fun, and playfulness.  This backdrop is one of our well-loved masterpieces that was a product of our Custom Rental Service. Our graphic designers and talented artists work directly with our customers to design and create the perfect customized backdrop to rent. We’ll simply rent the custom designed backdrop & add it to our ever-growing inventory. Check it out & create your own backdrop to RENT here.

Pop Art Ducks 1 backdrop

It was a pleasure providing our Jungle Animals backdrop for Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventure. Below is our very own Client Services Manager, Donna, with the wonderful Jack Hanna himself! We had such a fun time providing this backdrop for his area. It truly transformed the space and brought the jungle to life!

Jungle Animals 3 Backdrop Jack HannaOverall, it was such an amazing day for an incredible cause. We truly felt honored to be a part of this event. We had so much fun providing the backdrops to enhance the different areas and to transform all of the spaces. Giving back is part of our core mission and we love being a part of meaningful charity fundraisers such as this one. See how you can give back & get involved with Safe Kids Worldwide here.

Backdrops Beautiful Gives Back! – A Time For Heroes 2015

December 14th, 2015

Woodlands 6 backdrop - A Time for Heroes 2015

It was such an honor to be a sponsor of such a meaningful cause. We jumped at the idea of being a sponsor of The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) annual event, ‘A Time For Heroes‘, at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA. A family-friendly event dedicated to spreading awareness of pediatric AIDS while providing a fun atmosphere for all of the attendees.

This was a fun and adventure packed day with such important intent. There were so many options for all of the families and kids. We loved all of the activities! Some of the highlights were the Nickelodeon Animation Station, King of Harts Lake Tahoe camping experience, Cinema Makeup School play station, science room exploration station, gift bag screen-printing, basketball, and virtual surfing.

Woodlands 6 Backdrop - A Time For Heroes 2015

We sponsored the King of Harts booth by Melissa Joan Hart in which were honored to be part of the Tahoe camping experience to introduce their new line of clothes for kids! We loved seeing Melissa, Tori Spelling, and other celebrities read by the campfire! We had the pleasure of providing our Woodlands backdrop as a perfect complement for this Lake Tahoe camp-inspired King of Harts booth.

Woodlands 6 Backdrop - A Time For Heroes 2015

This was definitely a star-studded event full of celebrities including Melissa Joan Hart, Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, Hannah Simone, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, James Van Der Beek, Alyson Hannigan, and many more. We all joined EGPAF to celebrate its 26th annual ‘A Time for Heroes’ family festival, which was truly such a blast for all that attended.

Woodlands 6 Backdop - A Time For Heroes 2015

EGPAF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. This is such an important and significant cause. We’re so proud to be part of this amazing event that brought awareness to the attendees and greater community at large. It is time for the everyday heroes to give back to the community in a meaningful way. Get involved by giving back here.

Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego’s Gala and 4th Annual Chef Appetizer Challenge

July 23rd, 2013

Super Hero Soirée Pic1

We are honored and humbled to have once again been given the opportunity to participate on the Meals-on-Wheels Greater San Diego Gala and 4th Annual Chef Appetizer Challenge on July 20, 2013 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.  This year’s theme was a Super Hero Soirée which was perfect given the fact that Comic Con was the same weekend.   We donated our Comic Book 6 backdrop (40×20) for the main stage and our Comic Book 5 backdrop (10×10) for photo opts.  This is Meals-on-Wheels largest fundraising event of the year to raise critical funds supporting the independence and well-being of San Diego seniors.

meals-on-wheels1

 

Holy Cross Mothers Guild Fashion Show and Luncheon

May 16th, 2013

Notre_Dame_High_School

Once again Backdrops Beautiful participated in the Holy Cross Mothers Guild Fashion Show & Luncheon on April 27, 2013 by donating a backdrop to their event.  We donated our London Skyline 2 Backdrop.  This years theme was A Knight in London.

They are a group of mothers at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA that raise scholarship funds for students who have lost a parent.  It is a very worthy cause that we are privileged to participate in.