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PrintSpecial Report: Charitable Wedding
More and more people are getting married later in life, and don't need the traditional wedding gift of toaster ovens and fondue pots. For those couples who want a different type of gift registry, --- there’s a website that turns those blenders into help for others.
Blow off the blender -- Toss the toaster -- Move over microwave
The latest present for your betrothed friends is the gift of charity.
Jessica Alny and Jeff Repanch are newlyweds, "We didn't want the day to be all about the bride and the groom and the dress and the flowers."
Jessica and Jeff are from Kingston and were married a few months ago, and didn't want their guests to waste their money on things the couple didn't need. So instead of a traditional registry, they registered for gifts on the website, idofoundation.org.
"Well every time somebody made a purchase, a percentage of it would go into an account that we had set up for these two charities," explained Jessica.
On the site, wedding guests can either buy a traditional gift from a well-known retailer and a portion of the cost is donated to charity, or they can make a straight donation in the couple's name. Jessica and jeff chose horizons for homeless children and the fund for animals to contribute to. There are dozens of affiliated charities or you can nominate your favorite.
Jeff said, "It’s a way to register for your wedding in a charitable way so that you can give back to some charities that you care about on your wedding day."
The "I do" Foundation was the brainchild of Bethany Robertson, who created the site back in 2002.
"A lot of couples have told us it is a great break from the me-me-me, spending all the time that tends to happen when you're in the midst of planning a wedding," said Bethany.
And it seems that Robertson has hit on something, as 20,000 couples are expected to register on the site this year alone.
"Our vision is that in ten years when you come back from a wedding, people will ask who was the best man, what did the bridesmaid dressed look like and what was the couple's charity. And when you start to hear that I think we'll really start to see social change," said Bethany.
To make your special day special for others in need, you can go to idofoundation.org and check out all the charitable programs they have available.
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