Giving back is just business as usual at Ylang Ylang, says owner Julie Ettinger. “We have a motto—’Love this Life’—and giving back is a way for us to do that,” she says. “If you give, you get in return.”
Since the Glennon Card program launched in 2011, the custom and fine jewelry store has been heavily involved as a cash sponsor, merchant participant and Glennon Card seller. “The money raised for the kids is a beautiful thing, and everybody benefits from participating,” Ettinger says of the card program in which shoppers buy a $50 gift card to receive discounts at local shops. The $50 goes to the hospital, and the 20 percent discount applies to more than 300 stores for a 10-day period, from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2.
“The kids at Cardinal Glennon, of course, benefit,” Ettinger says. “We benefit as a contributor and by making a difference in our community. Customers benefit because they get discounts at local stores.”
In 2012, during a Show Me St. Louis segment, Ylang Ylang presented a sterling charm to an SSM Cardinal Glennon nurse and two of her young sickle-cell anemia patients. The specially designed charm displayed the Glennon logo on one side and on the other, words from the Glennon mission statement: “the healing presence of God.”
“We were overwhelmed by the caregivers and their role at the hospital, and we also wanted to show that we can do custom pieces catered to anyone,” Ettinger says. “It was a surprise for the kids and the nurse, and it was a really emotional moment for everyone.” The charms, from designer Heather Moore, can still be ordered from Ylang Ylang, and 20 percent of the proceeds go to Cardinal Glennon.
Ylang Ylang, headed into its 30th year in business, is moving later this month to a new location at 8845 Ladue Road in the Colonial Marketplace shopping center. After learning Glennon Card organizers were hoping to get more merchants in the area to participate, Ettinger went door-to-door to encourage them. “It’s our new home,” she says. “My goal in being in the Colonial Marketplace is to create a real community. And supporting small businesses is important to me, too.”
This year, shoppers can again purchase the Glennon Card at Ylang Ylang, as well as online or at several other stores, to receive 20 percent discounts from participating merchants. Ylang Ylang also is donating three $1,000 gift cards. One will be used as a silent auction item at the Glennon Card Luncheon and Boutique Oct. 17 at Union Station, a second will go to the Register to Win random giveaway for cardholders who register their cards online at glennoncard.org, and the third will be given to one lucky shopper who purchases his or her Glennon card at the new Ylang Ylang store.
Pictured: Ylang Ylang owner Julie Ettinger
Photo: Bill Barrett
