A Pledge the Pink fundraiser

October Practitioners & Organizations

A woman wearing Melis Jewlery

MELIS

MELIS launched her accessory business in 2001. She has always been an artist since she was very young with a desire to work with her hands painting, sculpting and designing. MELIS has expanded the line over the years with new line additions from whatever creatively speaks to her. Originally from Dallas, Texas and now settled in Phoenix, after graduating with a degree in Merchandising and Fashion Promotion and a minor in Business from the University of Arizona. She creates accessories that encourage you to “bring out YOUR inner Rockstar” because she feels everyone has an inner Rockstar and you only need one special accessory to bring it out!

MELIS recently went through her own personal journey which has lead her on a new path of positivity and happiness. She sees her life through new eyes with each day bringing so much growth and gratitude. As she followed her new path, her designing grew with her creating her line ENERGIE. The line is created with positive healing energies and messages. If you can begin each day with positivity and are kind to yourself and others, you begin a new path of happiness and healing that is contagious to those around you. She can now share this journey with you in hopes of creating new change and positive thinking with her accessories. Melis always says – Positive ENERGIE is Contagious!

Some of her jewelry has been gifted to celebrities including Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Nancy O’Dell, Jewel, Samantha Harris, Eric Clapton and ZZ Top.

Champagne bottles and glasses on a glass table

TAWNYA FALKNER

CEO & PROPRIETOR OF LE GRAND COURTÂGE

Tawnya Falkner’s passion for food, wine and travel, sent her on a journey to France after seeing a gap, and thus an opportunity, in the sparkling wine category. ​Given this belief, Tawnya took the leap and gave up her career in real estate development and architecture in San Francisco to pursue her dreams. Tawnya’s vision was to create an affordable luxury which embodies the French spirit of ​joie de vivre (joy of life) and elevates life’s everyday moments. Her journey resulted in Le Grand Courtâge, which produces award-winning 90+ point French sparkling wine and a Provence-style still wine, Très Chic Rosé.

Tawnya’s background in design and real estate development, actually utilizes many of the same skill-sets which are needed to build a consumable product. Development is very multi-faceted and blends creative, legal, financial and logistical skills; the same is true of wine. Tawnya was educated at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and later became a co-founder of two, still operating firms, Strategic Development Solutions and Domus Development.

Having raised venture capital and built Le Grand Courtâge into a national brand with distribution in 48 states, Tawnya has realized that success in the wine industry requires a combination of art, science, strategy and relationships. The brand has achieved appreciable success in terms of cases sold, the caliber of accounts secured and the overall accolades. Le Grand Courtâge wines have appeared on The Today Show, as well as in Martha Stewart, People, Vogue, The Knot, Domino, Architectural Digest, Cosmopolitan and Huffington Post to name a few.

Tawnya believes food and wine are the great common denominator of people and cultures, and it gives her great joy to create something which is about community and connection.

Oysters

PINK RIBBON OYSTERS

Pink Ribbon Oysters are harvested with love from the Long Island Sound. Every oyster is uniformly cleaned and graded by hand to share consistent qualities: petite, plump and without cracks, which ensures natural moisture and superlative fridge life.

25% net revenue of every Pink Ribbon Oyster is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. BCRF is the highest rated breast cancer organization in the U.S. with an A+ rating from Charity Watch and 4:4 starts from Charity Navigator. Every dozen oysters on the half shell helps find a cure.

A Pledge the Pink fundraiser

PLEDGE THE PINK FOUNDATION

Pledge the Pink Foundation is a nonprofit public charity dedicated to funding breast cancer screening, treatment, outreach and research.

They provide funding for free mammograms, medical assistance, and outreach services to the people who need it most and too often are lost in a system of endless paperwork. Quite simply, they fill the gap and eliminate the red tape and bureaucracy.