Summer Whirlwind

Run, run, run, and then run some more. It’s the unofficial playbook of any busy socially-conscious start-up hoping to stick around, gain traction, grow larger, get in front of more individuals, and do more good for more people…and Hari Mari’s no exception to that rule, and July & August are strong testaments to that. 

July marked Hari Mari’s first big push behind its Flops Fighting Cancer initiative, where we doubled our financial commitment for every pair of flops purchased, threw a Flop Drop in Cook Children’s Oncology & Hematology wings, and met & befriended some pretty resilient kids at the medical center throughout our visits.

 

Kids like Landon, who silently impressed with a small frame and a big heart.  There was Trey, who left high school as a senior for treatment at Cook’s, but persevered in his goal to finish school, taking classes at the hospital to stay on track & graduate this past spring.  And, there was Julia, who's yearly spring trip to get flip flops with her mom was interrupted by cancer, until they had the chance to do so again at our Flop Drop.  Julia's now finishing her treatments and starting college.

Switching gears, in August, Hari Mari’s team embarked on a barnstorming road trip of Texas and nearby (quasi nearby, at least) states to spread the word about our little brand, taking us to and through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma, where we ran into and met some really great people along the way.

We met Joe in Wamsutter, Wyoming, where he was in his third year of crisscrossing the U.S. by bicycle.  We met Rudi, who recently moved to L.A. from Sydney, and bet us a beer we couldn’t tell a good joke – he won.  And, we met the ever-energetic Jane in Salt Lake City, where she told us the story of her cousin Claire who recently overcome cancer to start high school as a freshman this year.  

During our travels, we also met scores of runners, paddle borders, surfers, skate boarders, hikers, yoga enthusiasts, rock climbers, campers, college students, fathers & mothers, brothers & sisters, people from near & far (mostly far) and of course, super brave kids who are fighting (and winning the war on) pediatric cancer.

The whirlwind Summer of 2012 has made for an incredible few months for our newly-gelled Hari Mari team. Thanks in a very big way to all of you who donated their time to help our good friends at Cook Children’s, who took time to hear our story, and who took an interest in finding out why our flip flops and the people they help are far from ordinary.

Time to keep running…

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