Advantage Bridal is a leading online wedding accessories retailer and has been in business since 1992 offering everything from wedding favors to bridesmaid shoes, invitations to flower girl dresses and has recently started to offer accessories for all types of special occasions including first communions, baptisms, quinceañeras and proms to name a few. Advantage Bridal offers over 21,000 unique items and has been producing their own line of custom apparel including t-shirts, tank tops and hoodies. Each custom item is made to order and is available with rhinestone embellishments or with custom embroidery. Advantage Bridal began to notice a demand for pink ribbon embellished items. This seemed to be a natural fit for the company after owner Sandy Keller received her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2007. The company has since produced logo apparel to help raise funds for FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, (www.facingourrisk.org) and now introduces new pink ribbon designs for two additional charities, 2B Restored and Breastoration(www.breastoration.org) .
"I was blessed to receive an early diagnosis and surgery with one of the top reconstructive teams in the country," states Keller. "I lost my mother to breast cancer when she was only 48, and decided that I would do this in her honor. I am working to help other women who may not be fortunate enough to have insurance or the means to travel for the very best care. Along with a couple of other survivors, I worked to launch the Breastoration Foundation in New Orleans last year, and then decided I wanted to make an impact in my local community as well. We've since received commitments for several generous local surgeons willing to do pro-bono surgeries and with the availability of a nearby county hospital, we have everything in place to help women who have no medical insurance receive reconstruction after breast cancer."
2B Restored was incorporated in California earlier this year and has applied for non-profit status with the IRS. Keller has again teamed up with a fellow survivor and some close friends whose families have been affected by cancer to create a new organization with the aim of making a difference in their local community. The 2B Restored website will be launched soon, funded by donations and the proceeds of pink ribbon apparel and accessories produced by Advantage Bridal.
A family-run business, Advantage Bridal is now reaching out to the local community. Keller is proud to team up with family and friends to raise awareness for a cause that has touched her personally. States Keller, "It is wonderful to have my husband and all three of my children working with me to run the company, and to have an outstanding, supportive team of employees. But the most rewarding thing of all is the opportunity we've been given to use Advantage Bridal as a means of helping breast cancer survivors and their families."