Make a Difference - Play Scrabble

When big companies make big donations to charity, they get a lot of publicity out of it. Today, I got an email from a small company that's giving back in a (relatively) big way. The company is Protiles and, as of June 1st, they are giving 10% of every sale to charity. Even though I've known about this company for a long time and think their products are fantastic, I had no idea what they were already doing for charity.

If you play Scrabble, Clabbers, or Anagrams, check out their products. They're the best Scrabble tiles available and are required use in most tournaments. I like the white injection-molded tiles myself, but they're all good. They have some funny videos too.

Here's the message from Protiles:

For several years Protiles has been selling sets of white tiles with pink letters and a pink breast cancer ribbon on the blanks.  Five dollars from every set sold is donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  

Last year Protiles donated over 240 sets of Protiles to the 2008 Players Championship in Dayton, OH. 

In the last eight months Protiles has donated more than 150 sets of Protiles to school teachers in 15 states for use in their classrooms.  Here's a typical request:  "I am interested in using letter tiles in my class next year to help teach spelling.  Unfortunately, we have no funding available.  Do you ever make donations to a class or give a great discount to teachers?  I teach first grade at Bethlehem Elementary in Taylorsville, NC."

So far Protiles has sent sets of tiles to teachers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Kansas, Tennessee, Florida, Nebraska, Texas, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina.  

Protiles also would like to honor Rose Kreiswirth's memory.  Rose was an expert Scrabble® player for over 30 years and cherished the game for its educational values. An accomplished player, Rose was as well known for her sense of fairness and her congeniality as she was for her competitiveness. The Rose Award will be awarded each year at the National Scrabble Championship to a female player who, in the opinion of the judges, best exemplifies the fierce competitiveness and compassion that we remember Rose for. 

Finally, my local Starbucks store asks customers to donate the new instant coffee, VIA, to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The coffee comes in a small packet and works with both hot and cold water, perfect for a cup of coffee away from the comforts of home.  Would you buy a cup of joe for a soldier?

Beginning June 1, 2009 Protiles will donate 10% of the sales price of every set our customers order to these good causes.  We'll send sets to school teachers, we'll honor Rose, we'll support breast cancer research, and we'll send some good-tasting instant coffee to the troops.  

When you order Protiles tell us where you'd like the 10% to go.  If you choose not to choose, we'll choose for you.  Either way you'll know that we're doing something good together.