A Better Birthday Party

Remember computers before that new word Google? No, neither do we. But looking back, how did we live without it? We’re pretty sure you’re going to feel the same way about birthday parties once we tell you about ECHOage (another new word).

Alison Smith and Debbie Zinman, two Toronto savvy moms, were looking for a way to bring more meaning into their children’s birthday celebrations while reducing their environmental footprint at the same time. Settling on the idea of One Gift, One Cause, they’ve developed a thoughtful and well thought out birthday party solution that helps children celebrate giving and that (believe it or not) can improve the world one birthday party at a time.

So what the heck is an ECHOage party, you ask?

Easy - easy for you and easy for your guests, the ECHOage.com site provides a birthday party system that sends invitations, tracks responses allows guests to donate to the charity selected by your child, send thank you notes and even gathers any allergy information and parent contact details for the guests.

Cause-Oriented - with a selection of charities to choose from, you decide which one to support through the party. Half of each guest’s contribution goes to the selected charity and the other half goes to buying your child one meaningful gift (which moms know is much more meaningful and memorable than 20 less meaningful gifts).

Happy - everyone’s happy with an ECHOage party (mom, guests, the birthday child, the environment and the selected charity that benefits from the generosity of everyone involved).

Online – sending an invitation electronically saves trees (and the designs are gorgeous too!). Guests avoid driving to buy gifts and wrapping them which also helps the environment.

Alternative - an alternative party idea that’s not that ‘alternative’. You can still host the party anywhere you want (at home or otherwise) and do whatever you want and use whatever theme you want, just with less impact on the environment and without the pile of gifts that might not be appreciated.

Gift-giving made simple – your guests are saved the trouble of buying a gift for the sake of it. Instead they can make a secure online payment of $20 towards the party.

Educational – using ECHOage together, provides a fun yet impactful way to teach your children about giving, charity and protecting our environment.

So now that you’re familiar with this new word, soon to be part of every mom’s vocabulary (we’re sure), ECHOage your next birthday party. The world will thank you (not to mention your guests).

www.echoage.com