Our bakery is located in Phoenix, AZ and one of our neighbors is a construction and development company called Vivo. Recently, Vivo  volunteered for the holidays at a local shelter in the valley called St. Vincent De Paul. They asked Fairytale Brownies for a donation of brownies to go toward the shelter, and we were more than happy to help out. Here is a picture that some of the Vivo workers took passing out some of our Fairytale Brownies. Additionally, Fairytale Brownies continues to donate thousands of brownies toward St. Vincent De Paul on a year-round basis. Thank you Vivo for helping to make the world a sweeter place!

It rained a lot in Phoenix yesterday, and at least 150 volunteers experienced that rain first hand while building a playground for Riverbend Preparatory Academy in Laveen. Fairytale Brownies team members were there helping KaBOOM! and Home Depot provide a safe place to play for the elementary school students who attend Riverbend. Despite the wetness, the playground was finished by the afternoon.


Kurt Warner, quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, dropped by to help with the build as well. He worked on a rock climbing wall, mixed cement and planted flowers in the newly built planters.

Then he signed autographs for the volunteers in the school gym. Volunteers munched on Fairytale Brownies while waiting in line for their autographs.


Fairytale Brownies' co-owner Eileen Spitalny worked on the mulch crew with the mulch master (someone who's been on the mulching crew before), who is pictured above. In fact, this particular mulching master was a volunteer at the last Phoenix KaBOOM! build a few weeks ago but missed out on her gourmet brownie. We made sure she tried one this time. Below is a photo of Eileen in action.

See? I told you it was rainy!
After mulching, Eileen waited in line to visit with Kurt, too.

Kurt even signed Eileen's Fairytale Sprite!

That brownie won't be eaten any time soon...
Lian Mah was KaBOOM!'s project manager. She flew from Washington, D.C. hoping to have better weather than what she left.

Although the Phoenix weather disappointed her, she DID get to visit our Fairytale Brownies bakery and have a tour with Eileen.
By the way, I wasn't officially on the mulch crew this time. I got to be a cement worker and help lay the forms for the playground. I thought I was pretty sturdy until I tried to lift an 80 lb sack of cement. I really need to start lifting more brownie boxes!

The buzz going on here at Fairytale Brownies is huge this week. We are all so excited about this Friday because we are expecting a TV crew from The Food Networks "Unwrapped" show to shoot an episode featuring Fairytale Brownies. The premise of the show is 'comfort food' and they'll be shooting the bakers baking our gourmet brownies from scratch, interviewing our founders David Kravetz and Eileen Spitalny, filming our shipping team packing and getting gifts ready for FedEx shipment, and showcasing our retail store that is open to the public.
 
From the show, we are hoping to remind people that Fairytale Brownies are great as Holiday Gifts and are easy and simple to Order Brownies! As soon as we have an air date for the show, we'll pass the word along to you!

~ Hilary

Veterans' Day is upon us, and I thought I would take a minute to thank all of our veterans, past and present, on behalf of everyone here at Fairytale Brownies. We love our troops, so much so that we even have a bulletin board in our office overflowing with all the notes and photos we've received over the years from the soldiers we support.



Not only do we offer free shipping on any gourmet brownie gifts sent to an APO/FPO military address, but we are also part of the Soldiers' Angels Bakers Group, sending delicious Belgian chocolate brownies to our deployed troops each and every month. Our Customer Service Team also writes letters and sends care packages to soldiers to remind them someone is thinking of them.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for your favorite veteran, try sending one of our Patriotic brownie gifts to show your appreciation for their service to our country.
 
Thank you veterans, for being our heroes!
~Kari

• Demonstrations by top pastry chefs and chocolate makers
• Chocolate tastings
• Over 65 top chocolate brands and booths (Including Fairytale Brownies!)
• Chocolate activities for children and adults
• Barnes&Noble cookbook store with author signings
• Haute Couture dresses and accessories all made with chocolate!

In past years we participated in the Haute Couture fashion show. One year our model wore a pirate outfit that was over 25% real chocolate. She carried a treasure chest around and threw Magic Morsels out to the audience. This year if you come visit our booth and mention that you saw this blog post, you will receive a free Brownie flavor of your choice! Also, we'll be sampling several Fairytale Brownies flavors from our luscious brownie family as well as showcasing our new products and most popular holiday gifts.

This year the Chocolate Show is being held from November 7th - 9th, and is located at Pier 94 (711 12th Avenue and 55th Street). The Opening Night Benefit & Fashion Show is going to be on Thursday, November 6th from 6:30 am - 10:30 p.m. If you are located in the Tri-States area, we hope that you will come and visit us! We love hearing from our customers and hearing your brownie stories! Hope to see you there!

~ Hilary

Recently, Fairytale Brownies was featured in a story in the "Chronicle of Philanthropy". The article details Fairytale Brownies partnership with KaBOOM! and how we give back to the community. I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as I did!
 

Bakery's Partnership With Charity Is Recipe For Success

How it gives: Fairytale Brownies supports KaBOOM!, a Washington charity that builds playgrounds in neighborhoods nationwide. Fairytale Brownies donates 25 cents for every "Happy Birthday" or other special-occasion message it sells. It also donates gift bags to KaBOOM! that the charity hands out to volunteers and corporate sponsors. Last year, Fairytale Brownies added a page to its Web site that allows customers to donate a dollar to KaBOOM! when they make a purchase.
 
Fairytale Brownies employees volunteer with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds in and around Phoenix. "For our employees, it's a great eye-opener and builds awareness of their community," says Eileen Spitalny, one of the founders. "For a lot of us, we feel we have never accomplished so much in a day."
 
How it got the idea: When Ms. Spitalny and her business partner, David Kravetz, started the company, they received numerous requests from charities that wanted to work with them. For the pair, who met on a playground as kindergarten students, KaBOOM! seemed like the perfect fit. The charity was small but growing, like their company, and it worked nationwide.

How much it gives: Fairytale Brownies has raised $3,900 in the past year through its Web-site donation program. It has also contributed more than 20,000 pounds of brownies, or roughly $60,000, and donated an additional $30,000 since the company started working with KaBOOM! in 2002. Fairytale Brownies employees have donated more than 1,000 hours of volunteer time.

How the business has benefited: The exposure Fairytale Brownies receives through its donations of gift bags has helped drive sales, says Ms. Spitalny. Her business has generated more than $14,000 in the past two years from people who said they heard about the company through KaBOOM!

Working with KaBOOM! has also helped Ms. Spitalny develop ties with some of the charity's corporate donors, including Home Depot. "What charities can offer is the exposure they have to the business community," says Ms. Spitalny.

The charity's perspective: Darrell Hammond, founder of KaBOOM!, says working with Fairytale Brownies has increased public awareness of his charity.

Fairytale Brownies publicizes KaBOOM! prominently on its Web site, and a year after Hurricane Katrina, the company gave Mr. Hammond space in its print catalog to write about continuing needs in Louisiana. "They are probably still one of the top 10 reasons people hear about KaBOOM!," he says.

Why the partnership has worked: Fairytale Brownies employed about 15 people year-round when its founders approached KaBOOM!, and as it has grown the company's employees have continued to develop new ways to work together. "It has to be an ongoing conversation about how we can help each other," says Mr. Hammond.

~ Hilary

This week Fairytale Brownies had a Corporate Gifts showcase in our retail store for all of our Corporate Clients and Distributors. We showcased our new customizing options and our new custom packaging. We also sampled Fairytale Brownies, Fairytale Cocoa and Fairytale Coffee as well as our newest item, Fairytale Truffles! It was a great success and we had a great time visiting with all of our Corporate Clients and Distributors. Here is a picture from our event. Also, check out the background through the windows! Those are our bakers baking our delicious gourmet brownies!



~ Brandie