We want to hear your feedback. Please share your ECHOage experiences with us. http://www.echoage.com/forum/list.php?3 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:40:42 -0400 Phorum 5.2.7 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,324,324#msg-324 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,324,324#msg-324
I discovered your company through my last subscription to Woman's Day magazine (April 17, 2010 issue). I was so excited that something like this had finally been started. It has always been extremely important to me to educate my own children on the importance of charity and helping others. It can be done at any age! The earlier the better!!! =)

As soon as I told my two daughters about ECHOage, they were on board immediately. They had so much fun creating their invitations and planning their parties. They loved picking out the charities and reading up on who they were. What was amazing to me was the positive feedback we received from other parents and children. I am not sure if ECHOage parties are totally new to my area but I knew for a fact that none of my children had ever been been invited to one, nor had I never heard of it before reading my Woman's Day magazine.

We just received our checks two days ago (July 12th); I believe my girls closed out their parties around the end of June. Thank you for sending the checks so soon! They are excited to use their money when they go to Maine with their grandmother.

I intend on writing an article to our local paper and "Parent Paper" magazine, so that I can spread the word about how wonderful your company is and what a positive experience it was for my girls to have an ECHOage party. I can only say good things about the both of you and your mission----everybody benefits here! The environment benefits. Parents of the birthday children benefit with the ease of party planning. Parents of the children attending have the ease of taking care of the gift just with a click if they so desire--no running around looking for a present. They in turn educate their kids about charity. Birthday children benefit because they can pick out their own gift and learn more about charity. The community benefits.

How much better does it get than that? Thank you so much for making a difference in this world.

Warm regards,
Noelle Carenza]]> Noelle Carenza ECHOage.com Reviews Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:38:27 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,319,319#msg-319 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,319,319#msg-319
ECHOage will send half of the money collected to buy a dream gift for your child


and the other half to the charity your child has chosen.
Easy on guests, good for the environment and meaningful for kids.
NOW THAT'S SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!]]> mike lolato ECHOage.com Reviews Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:25:25 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,315,315#msg-315 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,315,315#msg-315
We want to thank you so much - ECHOage couldn't have been more of a success for our daughter's fourth birthday party! All of the invitees commented on what a great idea ECHOage is and everyone who attended donated generously.

At only four, we weren't convinced that our daughter would grasp the concept entirely, but boy did she prove us wrong ... she loved the idea - so much so that she has decided that on top of the half of donations going to Evergreen, she will also take half of HER money and donate it to WWF (she had a really hard time deciding between charities - eventually her green thumb won out over her love of animals - but it looks like in the end she still found a way to make sure that they both benefit). What a great introduction to the concept of charity!

I think we may make ECHOage a birthday party tradition for both of our girls from now on!

Thanks again,
Kelly]]> Kelly George ECHOage.com Reviews Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:17:16 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,312,312#msg-312 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,312,312#msg-312
We've been invited to several echo-age parties now, and I find myself with a few questions.

Are you a registered Non-profit Organization or a Charity?
How do the donations get made to the associated charities?
Who gets the tax receipts for these donations?

Thanks for the info, great idea, just want to know what is happening behind the scenes.

Lorraine]]> Lorraine May ECHOage.com Reviews Sun, 30 May 2010 16:16:54 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,309,309#msg-309 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,309,309#msg-309 Sarah Kimball ECHOage.com Reviews Fri, 28 May 2010 12:16:30 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,302,302#msg-302 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,302,302#msg-302 as a "first time" grandmother (finally - at the age of 63) we are
about to celebrate our grandson's first birthday May 1st, 2010. I
absolutely LOVE what you have done - what a great idea. I have already
forwarded your link to my daughter for future birthdays, and I hope
she will send it out to all her friends as well. Thanks again for
putting such a wonderful concept together. May you continue to grow
and influence future generations for many, many years to come. Also,
your web site is wonderful, and easy to use.
-Luci]]> ECHOage ECHOage.com Reviews Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:01:15 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,298,298#msg-298 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,298,298#msg-298
At the beginning of March, I set about preparing the online invitation. I looked at the list of charities and wondered how we would choose, because they are all so wonderful. I left the choice entirely to Duncan after I read to him the names of the charities and their brief descriptions, and he chose The Hospital for Sick Children. Knowing that my son would share his birthday gifts with a children's charity was the first guilt-free step.

I sent invitations to our guests by email through ECHOage, which was the second guilt-free step; no paper, no waste. I'll admit that I was worried at first about what the response to this new idea would be, as some people really like to buy their own gifts, and I was also not sure how they'd feel about half of their contribution going to a charity instead of to my son's gift.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Gift giving became stress-free for the guests, and they were able to contribute the exact amount they wanted to for his gift; no extras for taxes, cards, or wrappings.

After Duncan blew out his candles and the children were munching happily on their cake I told the parents about Duncan's choice of charity (The Hospital for Sick Children) and how much we donated as a result of their contributions. Again, the response was positive, not a dissenter in the bunch!

After cake, Duncan was still so excited to play at the party place that he forgot to open his gift that we bought with the contributions, and I was worried that I needed to be able to show our guests what their contributions bought him, but they were unconcerned. I did take the time to tell them in the thank you note.

Later at home my son played happily with his gift; video games, and I had virtually no clean up, except for the left over pizza we brought home. There was no wrapping paper, or bags to deal with, there was no packaging or boxes to tear open and sort appropriately for garbage and recycling, no time spent loading batteries, or finding space for new toys, and no tears about which ones we'd have to give away in order to accommodate the new ones.

Coming home and feeling good about having taught our children about giving; not feeling guilt about what, how many gifts, where they came from; or having to make sure to thank the right person for the right gift was the last guilt-free step, in a completely guilt-free birthday, the first one we've had for our children, but surely not the last.]]> Lesley Strong ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:06:35 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,271,271#msg-271 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,271,271#msg-271 Carolyn Amyotte ECHOage.com Reviews Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:20:31 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,256,256#msg-256 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,256,256#msg-256 Robyn Berman ECHOage.com Reviews Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:27:16 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,254,254#msg-254 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,254,254#msg-254 Nic Szecket ECHOage.com Reviews Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:13:00 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,251,251#msg-251 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,251,251#msg-251 Robyn Berman ECHOage.com Reviews Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:46:20 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,247,247#msg-247 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,247,247#msg-247
Thanks,
TT]]> Tracey Taylor ECHOage.com Reviews Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:13:49 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,244,244#msg-244 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,244,244#msg-244
Thank you!]]> Alice Powell ECHOage.com Reviews Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:35:35 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,219,219#msg-219 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,219,219#msg-219 Nargess Khosrowshahi ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:59:28 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,217,217#msg-217 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,217,217#msg-217 Alana Hunt ECHOage.com Reviews Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:57:47 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,205,205#msg-205 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,205,205#msg-205 Ilana Rosenberg ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:14:12 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,195,195#msg-195 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,195,195#msg-195 When I first suggested that she would receive one gift she protested. After looking at the website and her reading about the charities and realizing she could still get one gift she was on board.

From that moment this experience has been fabulous. She chose her charities and was thrilled to create the invitations and see the responses come in.

I was uncomfortable that she could she how much people gave because some gave more than others.
I am wondering if there is a way to hide the amount or only make it accessible for the parents.

The feedback from the other parents has been great so far.

Thank you so much.
Melissa Petrafesa]]> Melissa Petrafesa ECHOage.com Reviews Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:06:02 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,186,186#msg-186 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,186,186#msg-186
We did have a few glitches on the morning of the party. Some guests went back in to find details on the invitation and the website informed them the party had already happened and then they were shown as declined by the tracker. A couple phone calls assured us that they were still coming, but it seemed odd. Then another guest who had rsvp'd, but hadn't contributed tried to contribute on the day of the party. Again they were informed that the party had already happened and weren't able to contribute. I didn't officially close the party until today, which is the day after the party. It seems like our guests should have been able to access the party info and contribute on the day of the party. I hope you'll look into these small details so others don't have to experience them.

Overall we loved the Echo-Age experience and would definitely do it again.
Thanks, Lynda]]> Lynda Will ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:20:39 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,175,175#msg-175 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,175,175#msg-175 Cathryn Short ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:33:05 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,154,154#msg-154 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,154,154#msg-154
Then about three weeks before his birthday, two significant things happened to bring him around. It started with a conversation he had with his best friend, Sam. Sam was boasting about his ECHOage birthday and the $102 dollars he had raised for Free The Children. Then he mentioned the $102 he had for a Ripstick skateboard he was going to buy. The two boys had no idea I was listening to their conversation, I was thrilled; my son was inspired. Significant thing # 2 took place when ECHOage signed an exciting deal with World Wildlife Foundation, now my son could ECHOage his birthday and help monkeys at the same time. He was sold!

We knew TH was going to choose WWF as his charity, but we read through each of the charities just so he could hear about them all. After we were done reading, he quickly made his decision – he wanted to give to Free The Children – not monkeys! Go figure.

For the two weeks between sending out the invites and the actual party, my son made a daily visit to the ECHOage website to “track” his party. He loved seeing who was coming, what the comments were, how much money was going to Free The Children. Who knew an 8 year old boy could get this much joy out of raising money to help other kids?

Now we have closed the party, he has sent out his e-thank you cards (thank you ECHOage) and he’s off to the store this weekend to buy himself some hockey cards for his collection. What a lucky guy!]]> Roz Heintzman ECHOage.com Reviews Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:50:53 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,151,151#msg-151 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,151,151#msg-151 Joyce and Eric]]> Joyce Gaffud ECHOage.com Reviews Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:50:13 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,143,143#msg-143 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,143,143#msg-143
My second echoage party was just as incredible as the first. While I love, love, love the philosophical, political, and environmental dimensions to echoage, I also cannot overstate enough the sheer convenience and practicality of it all. What a pleasure to not have to load up the car after the party with a mound of presents. And, what an even greater pleasure to not then have my living room floor scattered with heaps of gift wrapping, cards, and cumbersome toy packaging!

Yes, there were still gifts from grandparents and well meaning aunts and uncles. To say though that an additional 20 gifts from classmates would be excessive is an understatement. By doing an echoage party, my son was actually much better able to appreciate the gifts that he did receive.

Thank you echoage!]]> tova moscoe ECHOage.com Reviews Sat, 16 May 2009 21:45:21 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,123,123#msg-123 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,123,123#msg-123
I am one of the previous posters who noted that I would prefer to have the option not to know the amount of $ that our guests have contributed - and appreciate that you are looking into this! I love the other ideas that others have come up with (photo option on the invite - and one on the thank you card would be great as well - as you could include a photo from the party!) I got around the donating from our own family by inviting ourselves to the party!! (also wanted to see what it looked like).

It did take a little time for a few of the guests to finally respond/donate but plenty of time to get it all wrapped up. We received the cheque withing 48hrs of closing the party (very impressive!). My daughter raised enough money to purchase 2 tickets to see RiverDance in June (she impressed us further by requesting to buy a ticket for herself and for her mom!).

The guests were really impressed with the ease at contributing and all appreciated not having to think of what to buy. Many of the guests brought home made cards - a thoughtful touch!

I had hoped that the concept would catch on for the neighbourhood - so far it has not as my daughter has been invited to 2 more "environmentally unfriendly" birthday parties for her friends (both of whom were at our ECHOage party). Oh well... here's hoping that there will be more hope in the future.

I was so impressed with the convenience that I have opted to host an ECHOage party for my son- despite the face we are hosting a very small party with only 3 invites! He was also very excited to see Autism Speaks Canada as a new charity choice. He is thrilled to know that any donations he receives for his party will ultimately help a cause that is dear to his heart!

Thanks again for the great experience - and I look forward to many more Green parties in our family. Here's hoping that eventually one of my kids will be invited to one so I can experience it from the other end!

Cheers!]]> Tracey Taylor ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:35:52 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,111,111#msg-111 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,111,111#msg-111
The invitation process was simple and easy (provided you have people's email addresses) and the parents of the kids loved being able to respond, donate the amount of money they wanted to give and then be done with it. No shopping or hassles involved!

The "Tracker" allows you to see who has viewed and responded to the invitation and it also keeps track of how much money has been collected. Once you "close the party" that means you have stopped collecting donations and at that time, ECHOage can send you the cheque for how much money was collected for your child. It only took 2 business days from the time I closed my son's party till I got the cheque in the mail.

Doing the thank you's on line is also another part of the easy, environmentally friendly and cost effective process. A quick email to everyone who attended and everyone receives a personalized heartfelt thank you without having to drop anything in the mailbox!

I know that I sound like an infomercial or something but I wanted to spell out my experience...from one mommy to another! I hope that you will see the value in such a party for your child and have as wonderful of an experience as I did!!

With the money collected, my son got his first two wheeler bike and helmet. Now we are just waiting for the warm weather to arrive to enjoy this amazing gift from his friends!!]]> Anne Low ECHOage.com Reviews Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:08:55 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,104,104#msg-104 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,104,104#msg-104 Renata Catenacci ECHOage.com Reviews Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:11:53 -0400 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,99,99#msg-99 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,99,99#msg-99
A couple of suggestions to make this all the more perfect:

1) PLEASE make the gift amounts anonymous. I saw a couple of requests for this in the forum. I have no wish to know who gave what, only whether or not a gift was received. I think its unfair on those families with lower incomes.

2) Please reword the phrase 'accepted and paid' to 'accepted with gift'. It sounds like we're selling tickets :) Not a big issue, just a case of phrasing.

3) When closing the party it said something along the lines of if you want to receive all of the money, with none to charity, please call. I don't know if I misunderstood the point of this message, but if it is true that at the end you can choose not to donate I think that's a bit unethical. You've told your friends that you're donating to your chosen charity, surely that should be enforced? Otherwise you're kind of raising money under false pretences. I do apologise if I've misunderstood the point but it seemed a bit strange.

4) It would be great to be able to add photos to the invite, maybe just one within the lovely designs, to personalise it.

5) One of our guests couldn't pay online, so they brought cash. It would be great if I could log in and add a donation on their behalf without having to create an invite for myself. Also, having been so proud of my son for his commitment to the charity, I would have liked to add more funds myself to boost the donation plus his spending money. This might be enjoyed by family who aren't attending the party too (we have family overseas).

My son's friend's party is in a few weeks and they've decided to go with echoage too, I'm very proud that my son has influenced his friends in such a positive way. Thanks again for this wonderful idea.

Janice]]> Janice Milnerwood ECHOage.com Reviews Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:46:54 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,91,91#msg-91 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,91,91#msg-91 We were reading a book about human evolution of all things. My son was trying to process the Darwinian idea that the fittest and smartest of the species adapt and survive, while the others become extinct. My son was clearly troubled by this, and when I probed to get at the core of what was bothering him, I would never have anticipated his response. Essentially, he figured out a very scary paradox, namely; that the very thing which has enabled humans to adapt and flourish on this earth, their brain, is the very thing that might be the cause of their downfall. Of course, he didn't quite say it like this. When I asked him to explain, he went on to say (in his 6 year old language) that the world is in peril because of all the things that humans do it, but that ironically, much of the way we pollute and endanger the environment comes from things initiated by human intelligence.
OK. So here is where echoage comes in and here is when I was blown away!
When I asked my son what can we do? Does this feel overwhelming? His response was surprisingly quick and self assured. "Mummy", he said, "don't you remember my echoage birthday party?" (which, by the way, was a full 6 months prior). Yes, of course, I said. Inside I was cheering. I was dying of curiosity about how HE was going to make the connections, and about WHAT those connections might be. So, naturally, I invited him to tell me more. He excitedly blabbed on for ten minutes about how children don't really 'need' so many presents, about how so many presents flies in the face of his constant reminders at home and at school not just recycle, but to REDUCE. He talked about how the giving of charity, part and parcel of the echoage birthday, helps to reminds us that human beings are all connected, whether we know them or not, because we all share this planet, and we are all partners in our responsibility to this planet and to each other.
My son's response should be an affirmation, not that ANY is needed, of the gift of consciousness raising that we give our children by giving them the opportunity to echoage their birthday. Make no mistake, this is a powerful subversive tool to help our children deconstruct, reorient, and renegotiate (in their own way) the prevailing norms of excess, apathy, and disconnected individualism. HURRAY for echoage!!!!]]> tova moscoe ECHOage.com Reviews Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:05:20 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,87,87#msg-87 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,87,87#msg-87
ECHOage delivers the gift of celebration

When Jodeme Goldhar learned about ECHOage, she knew it was right for her son’s birthday party. Jodeme views the unique program as a way to reduce the environmental impact, waste and over-consumption associated with children’s birthday parties, while teaching them the value of relationships over material gifts.

ECHOage allows parents to collect financial contributions instead of party gifts, pooling half the money for a local charity and the other half for one special gift for the birthday child. The turn-key site lets parents create and send their party invitations, manage RSVPs and even collect allergy information and parents’ contact details.

For two-year-old Cassius’s ECHOage birthday party, Jodeme’s family decided to support children living with cancer. “We’re so blessed to have healthy children,” says the Toronto mother, explaining her family’s choice to donate to Camp Oochigeas. “That’s what really spoke to me in honour of his birthday.”

By personalizing the party invitations sent through the ECHOage site, Jodeme was able to communicate the reasons for her choice. “The invitation allowed us to explain that we are a family that values the environment and values giving back to the community.”

In addition to Cassius’s second birthday, the Goldhar family decided to have an ECHOage party for their daughter Calla’s first birthday.

“For many families, ECHOage is a teaching opportunity,” says Jodeme. “In our case, with our children being so small, it was more an opportunity for us to communicate who we are and what’s important to us as a family. We feel really fortunate for what we have.”

Jodeme views ECHOage as a way to reduce the party’s environmental footprint by reducing gift wrap and packaging. She also appreciates the fact that ECHOage suggests a contribution amount, so that no one feels pressure to buy a fancy gift or make a large contribution amount. “It’s an equalizer,” she explains. “Any amount is valued.”

Cassius’s party was held at a party place called The Orange Dot in Toronto. “It’s a very happy place. The kids came, and played, and had a wonderful time. A musician sang songs, and we ordered in food. We were delighted to be surrounded by friends and family.”

ECHOage offers a solution to the “birthday problem”: children get so many gifts that they’re overwhelmed, and end up focusing on one or two while the rest are laid to rest in a basement or cupboard. Through ECHOage, children and parents can transform a birthday party into an environmentally respectful and socially mindful celebration.

Both parties raised about $150 for charity, with an equal amount going to each of the children for one meaningful gift. Further extending the impact, many of the partygoers have since held ECHOage parties themselves. Inspired by that, Jodeme has started to ask more questions of the children’s nursery school, about what it can do to raise the children’s consciousness about their ecological impact and ways to help the less fortunate.

“ECHOage has really hit the mark,” concludes Jodeme, adding that Cassius’s third birthday is coming up again, and it’ll be an ECHOage party.]]> Jodeme Goldhar ECHOage.com Reviews Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:46:24 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,78,78#msg-78 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,78,78#msg-78 It seemed to take a while to get all the responses, as the final one came on the morning of the party. All guests appreciated the time saved (especially as it was a December party).

Thanks again for this terrific way of organizing a party.]]> Caroline Boone ECHOage.com Reviews Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:44:54 -0500 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,73,73#msg-73 http://www.echoage.com/forum/read.php?3,73,73#msg-73 ECHOage ECHOage.com Reviews Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:49:34 -0500