Morrisville, NC — Now the staff of Operation Smile have more reasons than ever to, well, smile. Thanks to the launch of a new online company store from Brand Fuel Promotions, Inc., they’re able to put branded merchandise into the hands of their extensive network of medical caregivers, volunteers, student groups, and supporters and use the proceeds to fund Operation Smile’s programs.

Brand Fuel Promotions joined with Norfolk, Virginia–based Operation Smile to build, stock, and launch the Operation Smile Online Store. All proceeds from the sale of merchandise in the store will go to Operation Smile. Visitors may access the online store by pointing their browsers to http://www.operationsmile.org/ and clicking on the graphical “Visit Company Store” link.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide high-quality branded merchandise to our medical staff, volunteers, and other supporters,” said Dr. Bill Magee, CEO and co-founder of Operation Smile. “Whether they’re purchasing a gift for themselves or someone they know, our online store customers will know they’re making a difference in the life of a child.”

The store currently features a selection of high-quality polo shirts, T-shirts, sport bags, and attaché bags that are screenprinted or embroidered with the Operation Smile logo and tagline: “Changing Lives One Smile at a Time.” Brand Fuel and Operation Smile plan to expand the selection in the future.

Hands-off merchandising
As it does for all of its online company stores, Brand Fuel Promotions handles all aspects of web development, purchasing, inventory maintenance, fulfillment, and customer service for the Operation Smile Online Store.

Using its proprietary development software, Brand Fuel designed the Operation Smile store to look like an extension of the organization’s own web site and provide robust e-commerce navigation and functionality. Each month, Brand Fuel will send Operation Smile a portfolio of reports tracking recent activity in the store. Automatic inventory triggers alert Brand Fuel’s web services staff when stocks go below predetermined levels. Plus, the Brand Fuel software allows clients to do online polls and surveys; the results are included in each monthly report.

“One of the goals of Brand Fuel’s online company stores is to provide some relief from the hassles of merchandising,” said Lea Davis, director of marketing and web services for Brand Fuel Promotions. “Operation Smile needs to devote its time to helping kids—not to e-commerce. The online store will put their brand into the hands of Operation Smile’s key audiences and raise money for them, but it won’t require their day-to-day efforts.”

A long relationship
The relationship between Operation Smile and Brand Fuel co-founders Danny Rosin and Robert Fiveash dates back nearly fifteen years, when Rosin and Fiveash were students at Norfolk Academy. Rosin organized Operation Smile’s first student association, the Happy Club, as an eleventh-grader at the school. He traveled to the Philippines in 1986 and Kenya in 1993 as a mission volunteer for the organization.

When Rosin and Fiveash founded Brand Fuel Promotions (then called Clockwork Advertising) in the spring of 1998, they made Operation Smile one of the company’s philanthropic focuses.
Today an estimated 5,000 students serve as Operation Smile volunteers, working to raise funds and awareness in more than 250 Student Associations across the United States and in several countries around the world, including Honduras, Kenya, Morocco, and Vietnam.

“I am happy that I’ve been able to combine my longtime support of Operation Smile’s work with my career,” said Rosin. “Knowing that I can apply what Brand Fuel does every day to benefit the children of Operation Smile is a great feeling.”

About Operation Smile
Operation Smile is a U.S. registered not-for-profit organization recognized under IRS regulations (501(c)3). Working with thousands of international volunteers, the organization reaches children in developing countries who needlessly suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities. Operation Smile’s mission is one of self-sufficiency. It establishes a local foundation in each country in which it operates to facilitate medical missions and to begin to develop local capacity to treat children. Currently, Operation Smile touches the lives of children in more than twenty countries.

About Brand Fuel Promotions
Brand Fuel is a specialty advertising, promotional products, and web services company with a large showroom and in-house graphic design and web services departments. The company has some 1,500 active clients, including Safety-Kleen Corp., Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cisco Systems, Carolina Hurricanes, Aramark, Keebler, Safety-Kleen Corp., and KPMG. Located in the Triangle region of North Carolina, Brand Fuel has 15 full-time employees and celebrates its fifth anniversary this year.





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