Better Than a Four-Leaf Clover

“Selling the pins is more to raise awareness than to raise funds, but this is something we’re hoping to grow quite a bit,” Schoewe says. In 2005, pin sales netted $35,000.

Reaching out online
Mercy Home’s Web site was enhanced to promote visits and make it easy for people to donate. In mid-February, about a month before the Shamrocks for Kids event, the site frame is changed to emphasize the campaign. Mercy Home wanted to use the Internet to bolster its e-mail address file, raise revenue online and guarantee Web site credibility. Visitors were encouraged to wear the shamrock pin and make a donation.