Elves and More
Today there are 2.1 million people in prison in our nation. Most are undereducated, poor, young males from underprivledged areas. The problem is growing worse as the prison population has grown six-fold in just 30 years, 15 times faster then the overall population as a whole. Consider this; for the same $40,000 society spends to keep one person in prison for one year, Elves & More can buy and deliver new bicycles to about 1,000 children. If just 1 out of 1,000 of our children uses his or her bike to get a mentor to guide them, that results in that child avoiding a single year of prison; then our program makes sound economic sense. The other 999 children get a nice gift and our suppport which is more than they expected. We believe we are helping more than 1 of our 1,000, not for a single year but for their lifetime.
The approach which is taken is to gift entire communities so that they could share their joy, all at the same time. No one feels ashamed or left out because everyone gets a gift. Children don’t have to know about us or find transportation. We come to them and give them gifts that are othewise hard to take home.
- Inclusion: Serve children regardless of race, creed, color, gender or nationality.
- Integrity: Use contributions and donations solely to fulfill the MISSION.
- Accountability: Establish and maintain effective systems to ensure our MISSION is achieved efficiently.
The strategy is to raise funds to purchase and deliver high quality bikes/treasure boxes to 1,500 children during the 2015 Holiday Season. Tocreate bonds within the community, especially with bicycle clubs and service organizations to secure dedicated volunteers for funding/
assembly delivery. To initiate an area-wide search for neighborhoods that could benefit the most from our organization. To effectively brand the name of Elves & More of Northeast Ohio to assist in long term community support.