September 30, 2009

Messer to Receive Starfish Award

Mark Messer will receive the “Starfish Award” from the Happy Factory at the Gala Banquet on Wednesday October 14^th held in the Great Hall on the campus of Southern Utah University.

The Happy Factory has always operated on the premise that one person can make a difference in our community and the world. 

An old man walked upon a shore littered with thousands of Starfish, beached and dying after a storm.  A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean.  “Why do you bother?” the old man scoffed.  “You’re not saving enough to make a difference.”   The young man picked up another Starfish and sent it spinning back to the water.  “Made a difference to that one”, he said.  Mark has made a difference.

What is the one thing, without which, the Happy Factory could not operate?  Simply stated, it is the wood.  Mark Messer is Owner and President of Timberline Cabinet Doors and, beginning in 1998, he has donated virtually all of the wood the Happy Factory uses to make the little cars, sent all over the world.  Without the wood, there would be no building, no equipment, no volunteers cutting and sanding and finishing the little cars and the one millionth child would not be holding the one millionth car produced by the Happy Factory.

Previous winners of the Starfish Award are John Tews and Evan Vickers.

Mark was born in Cedar City and attended Cedar High School and Southern Utah University majoring in Business Administration.  Leaving SUU in 1994, before graduation, to open his business, Mark will tell you he has a Work PHD, not a Scholastic PHD.

Mark is married to Amanda, for 17 years and they have four girls, Makenzie 14, Brooklyn 10, Jacey 6, and Miley 1.  Mark is very involved and supportive in family/children’s activities and he loves mountain and road biking.

Tickets to the Gala can be purchased by calling the Happy Factory at
(435) 586-8352.

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Happy Factory Press Release
September 18, 2009

           Happy Factory Announces Gala Dinner

It’s “Gala” time!  The seventh annual fund raising gala for The Happy Factory will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, in the Great Hall in the Haze-Hunter Conference Center at Southern Utah University at 6:30 p.m. We invite you to be part of this wonderful evening in support of The Happy Factory and help us celebrate the placing of the one millionth toy in the hands of a child somewhere in the world.

The Happy Factory is a non-profit charitable organization which produces high quality hardwood toys that are given to children around the world. The majority of the toys are small cars and trucks, but the Happy Factory has also fulfilled "special orders" for blocks, steam shovels and other toys. The toys are not simple playthings, but tools that can help stimulate a child's mind allowing them to think, become creative, and to cope with the world around them.

The number of toys delivered to children all over the world is now approaching one million in more than 125 countries.  The toys go to schools, hospitals, family shelters, churches, foundations and many humanitarian organizations around the world. Many individuals have carried toys to places around the world.  You could deliver toys during your next trip. All toys go to children in need.  Many of the children have never owned a toy or anything else.

You can be an essential part of this process by attending the gala, sponsoring part of the evening, and/or contributing an auction item.  It will be a great event, reminding us that we are truly blessed and can reach out to help others, especially the children of the world.

Tickets to the Gala are $50.00 a piece or $400.00 for a table of eight.  They can be purchased by calling or visiting The Happy Factory at 586-8352.  

Auction items will be sold in both silent and live auction formats.  Do you have an item or service you’d like to contribute?  Your generosity is very much appreciated!

Sponsorship levels for the evening are as follows:

     Dinner Sponsor, with a donation of $5,000, will receive eight tickets to the  

Gala, special recognition at the Gala and on the website and will treasure the blessing that come from sharing.  The Dinner Sponsor’s donation will cover most of the expense of the dinner so that almost all contributions go straight to the manufacture of toys!   The will also receive a matched set of cars personally made by founder Charles Cooley.

     Steam Shovel Sponsors, with a donation of $2,000, will receive eight tickets to the Gala, recognition at the Gala, one Steam Shovel, and recognition on the website and will understand the satisfaction of being a benefactor to the Happy Factory.  Steam Shovels are primarily used to stimulate a developmentally disabled child in many children's hospitals.

     Car Carrier Sponsors, with a donation of $1,500, will receive eight tickets to the Happy Factory Gala, recognition at the Gala, one Car Carrier wooden toy, and will feel gratitude for having allowed the making of over 3,000 new toys for children.   

     Hor d’oeuvre and Auction Sponsors, with a donation of $750, will receive four tickets to the Happy Factory Gala, recognition at the Gala and on the website and will experience the joy of creating over 1500 new toys for children.

      Table Sponsors, with a donation of $400, will receive eight tickets to the Gala, and know the peace of participating plus recognition on the website and the creation of over 800 new toys for children. 

Thank you for considering The Happy Factory as a beneficiary of your time, effort, and hard-earned income.  You can make a child’s life brighter!  For more information please visit www.happyfactory.org or call 586-8352. 

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July 22, 2009

                             Time for Other Things

The Happy Factory is a wonderful place and has made a difference in the lives of children all over the world. It is the desire of the founders, Charles and Donna Cooley, that the Happy Factory grow and prosper long into the future.  Operating as a 501(c)(3), the Happy Factory can continue forever.

The time has come for someone else to pick up the vision for Charles and Donna. Volunteer couples are needed to learn how to operate the business and fundraising side of the Happy Factory. This commitment can be full time, as it is for Charles and Donna, or several couples can be trained to split up the time and the work load.

Now Charles and Donna are still around and will always be involved in the Happy Factory and they will do the individual training themselves.

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June 11, 2009

The Happy Factory, is holding a Golf Tournament at Thanksgiving Point on Friday July 31st.  There will be an 8:00 am tee-off, shotgun start and lunch with prizes.     

For more information click here to open brochure.

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The Happy Factory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose sole mission is to give the children of the world a small high quality wooden toy so every child has at least one toy.  If you wish more information on the Happy Factory go to their website at www.happyfactory.org.

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Open the Happy Factory Slide Show. (10mb download...patience will be rewarded.)