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Southwestern Company: Building Character for 150 Years
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High Tech/High Touch Universe
Young Company Focus: Aihu
Industry with Heart: AtHome America

Bringing Hope: One Heart,
One Hope, One Family at a Time

Hope 4 Mike Candle proceeds go toward ALS research to find a cure.

We the people of AtHome America, with commitment and great pride, in the spirit of service to God first, followed by our families, and AtHome America, are on a mission to change America, one heart, one home, one family at a time." With these opening words of their corporate mission statement, AtHome America Co-Founders (and sisters), Lisa Brandau and Becky Wright set the tone and focus of what it means to be a part of the AtHome America family.

It's a mission that carries over to the philanthropic activities of AtHome America. The HelpAmerica Foundation is AtHome America's non-profit charitable organization whose goal it is to improve the quality of life for those in America who have uncommonly great needs due to circumstances beyond their control.

Most of the funds and activities of the HelpAmerica Foundation are directed to help homeless veterans. The focus on the plight of homeless veterans stems from a desire to serve the men and women who put their lives on the line for freedom and served their country in war. It also flows from a deep love for America and for the freedom and opportunity this country affords to its citizens.

According to Lisa and Becky, their patriotic spirit was imparted to them by immigrant grandparents. "From a very early age they instilled in us how fortunate they felt to be in America," Lisa says. "They would tell us stories about the first time they came over on the ship and saw the Statue of Liberty. Our grandfather ended up migrating to Chicago and becoming a bricklayer. Once a year he would take Becky, our other sister, and me down to Chicago and show us a brick in a high-rise. He put in that brick; he couldn't do that if he wasn't in America. So we were inundated with that patriot spirit and it ended up taking a permanent place in our hearts."

Since 1993, the first year that AtHome America dedicated its charitable efforts to veterans, the company has raised and donated more than $1 million to organizations that assist homeless veterans. That first year, a total of $10,133 was raised and donated to VietNow to provide that organization a down payment for the purchase of its first building to help homeless veterans. The goal for 2006 is to raise more than $250,000 that the HelpAmerica Foundation will use to support organizations helping homeless veterans across the country.

A hallmark of AtHome America's philanthropy is the spirit of "total team participation" that pervades the organization. From Lisa and Becky to corporate employees to the independent HomeStyle Specialists, there is an across-the-board dedication to this cause. Lisa explains it this way: "We have our HomeStyle Specialists who have a dollar taken out of every one of their commission checks; our Home Team here at the home office has money taken out of every one of their payroll checks. This is not about Becky and me. This is about us helping build the awareness and letting people know that it doesn't take extraordinary people to do a lot. It takes ordinary people to do a little to really create an extraordinary effort." AtHome America customers are encouraged to participate as well. For a $5 donation to the HelpAmerica Foundation, they receive "A Light for Good" lantern as a gift for their contribution.

This total team effort extends beyond the giving of funds to the giving of time and appreciation as well. Over the years, hundreds of AtHome America HomeStyle Specialists and corporate staff have participated in Stand Down events around the country. Stand Down is an initiative of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. It is a grassroots, community-based intervention program designed to help the nation's estimated 200,000 homeless veterans "combat" life on the streets. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately one-third of homeless adult males in the United States have served in the military.

Taking its name from the wartime term referring to a breather and brief respite in a safe area behind the front lines soldiers were given before heading back into battle, Stand Downs are coordinated one- to three-day events that bring hundreds of homeless veterans in a city to a single location where they are provided a broad range of necessities including food, clothing, medical, legal and mental health assistance, job counseling and referrals, and most importantly, companionship and camaraderie. Numerous organizations both public and private are present at the Stand Down to assist veterans.

All of the $250,000 that AtHome America raises in 2006 will go to fund and sponsor Stand Downs around the nation. In June, the HelpAmerica Foundation sponsored the entire Stand Down held in Chicago not far from the company's corporate headquarters. Any Home Team staff members who wanted to volunteer their time were allowed to take a paid day off. The company rented a bus to take the group to the event where they worked sorting clothing and serving meals.

More than one thousand homeless veterans were served that weekend at the Chicago Stand Down. "It's one of those deals where you go expecting to change somebody's life, and they end up changing yours," Lisa says. "We have a rule here at HelpAmerica Foundation that when the veterans say 'Thank you,' we turn right around and say, 'No, thank you.' I have had grown men with no teeth-you know, they're living on the streets-crying on my shoulder, and saying no one has thanked us before. It just gives me goose bumps telling this story to you."

Three years ago, the HelpAmerica Foundation took on another charitable cause. Mike Wright, Becky's husband, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease." ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons that communicate signals from the brain to the spinal cord out to the muscles begin to degenerate and eventually die. At that point, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost and the patient loses mobility to the point of paralysis. In later stages of the disease, a person may lose proper functioning of everything except their sight, hearing and mind. The average life expectancy of an ALS patient is 2-5 years from diagnosis.

It was in 1939 that baseball legend Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with the disease, and in 1941 he passed away. With all of the advancements in medicine and technology, nearly 70 years later there is still no cure for ALS and there are minimal treatment options. At present, only one FDA-approved drug exists for ALS sufferers and it is aimed at symptomatic relief. At any given time 30,000 people in America have ALS, over 5,000 a year die, and 5,000 more each year are diagnosed.

As with their support for homeless veterans, the AtHome America team is wholeheartedly engaged in the effort to find a cure for ALS. Under the name Hope 4 Mike, the HelpAmerica Foundation has raised and donated more than a quarter of a million dollars to organizations researching a cure for ALS. The company created an ALS Hope 4 Mike candle that distributors sell and all of the proceeds go to the cause. HomeStyle Specialists and their families also have participated in ALS Walk4Life events held around the country to raise funds and awareness. In September, the Hope 4 Mike team in the Chicago area Walk4Life attracted more than 300 walkers and raised nearly $30,000.

Several HomeStyle Specialists and their husbands participated in the Tri-State Trek, a three-day, 270 mile bicycle ride from Boston to New York to benefit research to find a treatment and cure for ALS. Many other HomeStyle Specialists worked that event along the way across the three states.

AtHome America created an annual Hope Award to recognize the HomeStyle Specialist whose efforts for the cause really stand out. This year's award winner was a family from the Chicago area. The mom, a HomeStyle Specialist, organized a group of people to stand on street corners and collect donations from the drivers passing by. Her husband, whose name is Al, bought candles and added an apostrophe and made it AL'S Hope 4 Mike instead of ALS Hope 4 Mike. The family's son ran the Chicago marathon, 26.7 miles, in the name of Mike.

The outpouring of support and prayers from HomeStyle Specialists and Home Team staff has overwhelmed Becky and Mike. "It's just been incredible what has happened through AtHome America to raise funds as well as awareness for ALS," Becky says. "The prayers, love, support and cards that Mike and I have received have helped us immensely during this incredibly tragic time in our lives; it's just been a miracle. Our word is hope. It's represented by the Hope 4 Mike candles. You cannot lose hope, and you cannot give up. Every single day we have to have hope in our lives."

AtHome America's HelpAmerica Foundation's goal is to improve the quality of life for those in America who have uncommonly great needs due to circumstances beyond their control. For the homeless veteran or the ALS sufferer and their families, the HomeStyle Specialists and the Home Team staff of AtHome America are making a difference in their lives. They are bringing hope: one heart, one home, one family at a time.