At a Cascade Park Kiwanis monthly meeting in Vancouver last week, Esther Diez stood with her husband, Craig Bowen, wiping tears from her eyes.
The couple, along with their for-profit gift basket company GiftTree, had been honored on March 18 for their charitable giving and dedicated service to the Kiwanis.
GiftTree, partnering with the Cascade Park chapter, was singled-out for donations made to Clark County YWCA, Vancouver Mental Health Services and a number of local schools. When reached by the VBJ this week, GiftTree's owners declined to disclose precise numbers for their giving efforts, instead focusing on the Kiwanis International's historic philanthropic mission.
"I felt odd that the Kiwanis would give us an award," Bowen said. "We think it's our duty to give back to the community, but the Kiwanis do more than we could dream."
GiftTree's ties to the Cascade Park Kiwanis go deeper than just philanthropy. Liz Miller, treasurer for the Kiwanis, is GiftTree's controller.
In 1998, Bowen and Diez invited Miller to their living room, hoping to entice the CPA to take a job with GiftTree, which sells custom and pre-made gifts, wine baskets and holiday treats on its website, GiftTree.com.
"They asked me to work for them as a controller right around the time someone had offered to purchase my accounting firm," Miller said.
Ducking the dot-com bust which decimated many web-based ventures one year later, the Vancouver-based company is now a major online delivery player, with Bowen claiming over $20 million in annual revenue, employing 60 full-time employees, plus another 80 temporary workers to bridge the demand gap during holidays such as Christmas and Mother's Day.
Present at the Kiwanis meeting on March 18 were representatives from the Key Club's Relay for Life, Clark County Foster Kids Christmas Party and Martha's Pantry – the recipient of 90 Christmas baskets for needy families from GiftTree – all present to show their gratitude.
On the national stage, the company donated to the March of Dimes, Ronald McDonald House Charities and the American Cancer Society.
Founded in 1915 in Indianapolis, Kiwanis today has more than 8,000 clubs in 96 countries, with 260,000 members focused on helping communities and children.
In addition to their services on behalf of needy children, the Kiwanis also sponsor Key Clubs in local high schools, with the Cascade Park Kiwanis providing education and service products for over 500 youngsters at Union, Mountain View and Camas high schools.
