Home Work
April 27 2009In Boston, long before you walk into the Dancing Deer Baking Company and long after you leave, you smell it. The chocolate. The cinnamon. The unidentifiable yumminess.
Goodness lingers. Company CEO and co-founder Trish Karter, a Wheaton alumna, has made sure that that is also true of her business mission by practicing corporate social responsibility. Her award-winning Boston-based company donates 35 percent of the retail price from the Sweet Home product line to programs aimed at ending homelessness.
She has taken the mission on the road with the Dancing Deer Mother’s Day Ride to help end homelessness. To mark company’s 15th anniversary, Karter got on her bike on April 22 for a 15-day, 1,500-mile ride from Atlanta to Boston. The ride will end around Mother’s Day on May 6. Along the way she plans to stay at homeless shelters in 15 cities and talk about ways to end homelessness. She’s also trying to raise money for a scholarship fund that helps homeless mothers.
Before she left for the trip, NECN interviewed her about her efforts. See photos, find out where she is now via her GPS tracker and read her blog at www.dancingdeer.com/ride.
Dancing Deer President Rides Bike To Give Back
January 19 2009Dressed in cycling spandex and riding a stationary bicycle, Trish Karter is not your typical trade show exhibitor. She caught my eye when I was walking the aisles at San Francisco’s Fancy Food Show. The Dancing Deer Baking Co. owner is doing her part to spread sweetness by riding 300 miles during the three day food extravaganza.
Her efforts are part of a bigger picture. The Chief Deer at Dancing Deer is participating in a solo Mother’s Day Ride, covering 1,500 miles to celebrate Dancing Deer’s 15th Anniversary. Karter will visit 15 shelters in 15 days with Dancing Deer “Cookie House” events taking place with shelter residents, local chefs and mayors. Her goal; to inspire folks to send a gift to every homeless Mom in the US, (700,000.) A secondary goal is to raise scholarship money to help homeless mothers.
When I asked Karter about her Boston-based company and the inspiration behind her Mother’s Day ride she said, “The reason I’m in business is to make social change. We’re a green company and woman-owned. The cookies are great, but they are my vehicle for change.”
Do you have plans for Mother’s Day? Why not help spread some sweetness and donate to a worthy cause. Afterall, everyone has a mother to thank.