Hi and thanks for reading the MyPart story. 

One day I saw someone carrying a reusable bag and I thought, “I should do that. I should do a little more.”   I felt that a lot of people must feel the same…wanting to do their part but not knowing how to get started or if it would really make a difference. And now?  Well, I'm just a guy with a dog, and idea and 10,000 bags.

In 2007 I talked to my best friend (on two legs) and he said, “Make it happen.  Just order the bags and the rest will come. Remember you are not selling a bag, you are selling a solution to a very important problem. People want an easy way to help and an inexpensive bag meets that need."  No talk of a marketing plan, no budget, no sales plan, just "...order the bags and the rest will happen." I thought he was nuts. I thought about my years in school and all I had learned in my 20 years of corporate America and I was convinced he was nuts...so I ordered them and 8-10 weeks later, this huge truck pulls up outside my house.  I had to do some creative rearranging of my surfbaords and bikes in the garage...but I got 'em all in there!

I was 44  and not a stranger to career leaps. They all paid off…if not financially then definitely in the character building arena and that’s worth something, right? 

I had the dog before the bags and the bags before the plan…but I always had the dream. I knew there was something I could do that would empower others to make just a small difference in the world.  Am I out to save the world? Not necessarily, but I do think that ordinary people can make a big difference if we all do our part.

And here is where you come in.  Think about any group you know that needs to raise money. Schools, churches, sports teams, high school bands, charity organizations. Now think about traditional fundraisers where someone is selling cookie dough or magazines. People usually buy something because they want to help the cause, not because they are running dangerously low on cookie dough.

 

Now think about this:  You're at work and a coworker says, "My daughter is doing this fundraiser at school."  You start backing towards the water cooler, but then you see the brochure and it shows a product that makes sense!  Something that can be used immediately and has a direct impact on the environment.  You read how using just one reusable bag eliminates 350 plastic ones per year from the waste stream!  Eureka!  This is an idea you can get behind.  This is where you can finally do your part...with MyPart.

 

~Dave Dennis

   July 2007