FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY receives Show Us How You Care Award
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) February 22, 2017—FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY received the Show Us How You Care Award at the 2017 FASTSIGNS Annual Convention. This award is a part of the FASTSIGNS Cares philanthropic initiative and recognizes FASTSIGNS franchisees who demonstrate significant charitable giving efforts in their communities throughout the year. In conjunction with the award, two $500 donations were made on behalf of FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY to the American Red Cross Louisville Area Chapter and WHAS Crusade for Children.
FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY has deep roots in the Louisville community, beginning with the first banner it ever made as a donation to the WHAS Crusade for Children 22 years ago.
“Our first donation in 1994 was to the WHAS Crusade for Children, so we thought it was fitting to focus on how our commitment to this charity has grown just as our FASTSIGNS business has grown over the years,” said franchisee Sam Cilone, who now owns two FASTSIGNS centers in Louisville with his wife, Susan. “Although there are many great community organizations we support, we thought our long-term relationship with the Crusade and how it impacts our community meets the FASTSIGNS goal in this initiative of showing how we care.”
Just as the Crusade operates year round beginning with grass roots efforts by individuals and groups in the community and culminating in a non-stop 30-hour televised telethon climax, so do the support efforts by FASTSIGNS and the Cilones progress through the year.
As local firemen band together to collect money from drivers, a long familiar tradition in Louisville and the surrounding area, FASTSIGNS provides banners to display at road blocks. Banners are also created to show appreciation for other community volunteers, table covers to promote giving at Crusade events are donated, and even the Crusade vehicle has been wrapped to increase the visibility of the Crusade mission. Signs are donated to help support raffles, golf tournaments and festivals. Finally, the Cilones create many of the visual communications pieces used for the telethon itself.
Crusade for Children Vehicle
“We get very creative with awards and plaques presented to volunteers for their contributions. Recognizing these heroes is vitally important to the Crusade because these individuals raise the majority of this nearly $6 million annual effort,” Cilone said. “These custom pieces involve many hours of time to create because we want to properly thank those volunteers who give so much time to such a meaningful cause.”
At many of the events, the Cilones and their FASTSIGNS team can also be found volunteering their time.
Sam Cilone presenting "Face of the Crusade" award to Melissa Swan
“We volunteer for many components of the annual fundraising campaign, and have been a long standing sponsor of the largest fundraising event of the year, the Triple Crown of Running,” said Cilone. “That event consists of three consecutive races and more than 20,000 runners.”
In addition to staffing the races, Cilone and his team donate signs which include START and FINISH banners, directional signs, mile marker signs and station ID signs.
The Crusade gives the Cilones and their FASTSIGNS team a lot of opportunity to be creative, because recurring events, like the Triple Crown of Running, are mixed with new ideas. The FASTSIGNS team also works to create fresh designs for awards to keep them special. They are currently working on ideas for a modern donor wall design.
Ultimately, the Cilones hope to continue the momentum of this local 63 year program by showing leadership for other individuals and businesses to engage.
“During the telethon, we go on air to share why FASTSIGNS supports the Crusade and invite other businesses to join us,” Cilone said. “Throughout the rest of the year, as we work on other important causes and with other charities, we meet more community minded businesses. Often, funds raised by the Crusade are supporting those charities as well.”
Grants in 2016 from the Crusade went to the American Red Cross, Kosair Children’s Hospital, Hardin Memorial Hospital, Harrison County Hospital, Frazier Rehab Institute, Autism Speaks, University of Louisville, Asbury University, Bellarmine University, Eastern Kentucky University and many school systems providing programs for developmental disabilities, Visually Impaired Preschool Services, therapeutic and psychological counseling providers, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Hosparus, Home of the Innocents, Junior Achievement and many more.
“Raising awareness of the WHAS Crusade for Children to others across the world was definitely a great reason to participate in the FASTSIGNS Cares initiative, but winning and providing more support to the children in our community is our real reward,” said Cilone.
About FASTSIGNS
FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY is a locally and independently owned and operated sign, graphics and visual communications company that provides comprehensive visual marketing solutions to customers of all sizes—across all industries—to help them attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including décor, events, wearables, digital signage and marketing materials. To learn more, visit FASTSIGNS® of Louisville, KY online at fastsigns.com/202 or call (502) 747-1223 or visit FASTSIGNS of Louisville-Taylorsville online at fastsigns.com/203 or call 502-495-0504.