Color the World!
It's been 25 years since the first Fresh Produce t-shirts were sold off of a rickety folding table at the LA Olympics. Back in 1984 our founders, Thom and Mary Ellen Vernon, were wide-eyed, excited and full of life. We are happy to report that they still are and now also share their zest for life with their two growing sons. They’ve also imparted their passion for bringing vivid color and cheer to women, children, and homes around the world. Thom and Mary Ellen believe that color connects the human spirit regardless of age, language or hemisphere and have been doing their part to make those connections in almost every corner of the globe.
MEXICO
It has been a Vernon family tradition to trade turkey for tools to help build and furnish homes in Mexico through Youth with a Mission’s Homes of Hope project. The second year the Vernon’s participated, they decided to take it one step further and brought the paint in bright FP blues, greens and yellows. The homes were infused with a contagious Fresh Produce color and spirit that brought smiles and cheers to the new neighborhoods.
NATURAL DISASTERS
In 2006, Typhoon Durian divested the Philippines. Fresh Produce sent 36,000 pieces of sunny clothing to the region through a long-time partner, Children International. Fresh Produce has worked with this global humanitarian organization since 2000 and has sent more than 450,000 pieces of clothing around the world.
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina not only took its emotional toll on the nation, but on the employees of Fresh Produce as well. In the wake of this disaster, the employees of Fresh Produce formed a Katrina Fund, donating their own money to assist the hurricane victims. Fresh Produce then matched all employee donations, raising more than $16,000 to aid the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts of both the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.
AFRICA
Fresh Produce is also aglow at the Lovia School in Accra, Ghana, a preschool funded with love by Carol Freund, mother of our own Customer Service Diva, Kathe Freund. The school started with 10 kids in a garage and now lovingly supports 150 students!
SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA
In 2008, Fresh Produce joined efforts with Airline Ambassadors, a fantastic program that began as a network of airline employees using their pass privileges to help others and has expanded into a network of students, medical professionals, families and retirees who volunteer as "Ambassadors of Goodwill" in their home communities and abroad. Through this program, Fresh Produce has sent over 75,000 pieces of clothing the El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras to help under-privileged communities.
FP Employees building a house in Longmont, CO
OWN BACKYARD
Fresh Produce’s Boulder-based employees have contributed more than 350 volunteer hours to local projects, including Habitat for Humanity. Employees have also hosted coat, food, toiletry and toy drives for local charitable organizations.
The company has supported Boulder-based Women's Wilderness Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the courage, confidence, and leadership skills of girls and women, through the support and challenge of wilderness and community-based experiences.
Fresh Produce has sponsored fund raising events for the Boulder Valley School district, including Impact on Education. This program focuses on increasing resources for public education, and specifically on teacher excellence, science and technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields; and "at-risk" students.
LIVING THE FP LIFE
We hope wearing Fresh Produce will inspire you to shine, be your best and do a little good even if it simply means adding a smile to your daily agenda to make someone’s day brighter.