MMPI blood drives, fund-raisers continue
By Gary James -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2001
CHICAGO — Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. is conducting fund-raising and blood drives at its furniture and gift shows to support rescue and recovery efforts in New York and Washington.
Following what they called an overwhelming response to the blood drive at the Merchandise Mart on Sept. 15 during the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market here, MMPI officials teamed up with the American Red Cross for blood drives in the Mart on Sept. 19-20 as well.
"We were jam packed with donors the entire time," said Mark Falanga, vice president of business development for MMPI. The blood drives were open to the public and tenants of the building.
At the IIDEX/NeoCon Canada office furniture show in Toronto on Sept. 13-14, MMPI conducted a fund-raiser with the Canadian Red Cross. The drive was promoted during an awards ceremony hosted by the Assn. of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario, the show's sponsor.
MMPI plans similar campaigns at the L.A. Mart's Fall Gift, Decorative Accessories and Furniture Market, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, and at the Chicago Design Show, Oct. 4-7.
"These programs have a lot of impact," said Falanga. "They provide a great way for people to help out during this difficult time. They also help bring the industry together so we can talk through what's happening and try to deal with it."
MMPI also plans to conduct fundraising and blood drives at the High Point furniture market and January's Chicago Gift and Home market.
For both IIDEX and the casual show, which fell in the week after the terrorist strikes, MMPI worked with exhibitors and attendees to determine whether to hold the shows as scheduled.
"In the case of the casual show, we met with the Summer & Casual Furniture Manufacturers Assn. and took a vote," said Falanga. "Most of the exhibitors were already in town and set up, so it made sense to go forward."
But because many key retailers weren't able to attend, MMPI is scheduling a follow-up edition of the show called Casual Encore. Set for Oct. 5-7 at the Merchandise Mart, the event will overlap the annual Chicago Design Show. The Encore show will include a second version of the Chicago Gift and Home market, which also suffered a drop in attendance during its original run Sept. 13-15.
"This will be a costly undertaking for us," said Melvin Schlitt, vice president of marketing for MMPI. "But we owe it to the industry."
Meanwhile, MMPI said it had canceled the NeoCon New York show scheduled for Nov. 1-3. The venue for the show, the Javits Center, is being used for disaster recovery and MMPI is uncertain about when the building will be available.
| The venerable Merchandise Mart in Chicago was lighted in red, white and blue following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. |
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