MyTwoFrontTeeth.org

URL: http://www.mytwofrontteeth.org/

Mission:
To help community organizations fulfill the holiday wishes of hundreds of disadvantaged children in the San Francisco Bay Area through an efficient and personalized online giving system.

Purpose of Site:
MyTwoFrontTeeth.org helps Web users provide presents to needy children in a convenient and efficient fashion. Visitors to the site can choose a child to sponsor and then purchase their gift online. The site also provides information about the organization and how it started.

Background:
In the midst of the dot-com craze, technology professional Josh McFarland searched for a Web site that he could use to buy a gift online and have it delivered to a needy child for Christmas. When he couldn't find a way to do this online, he teamed up with Dave Selinger to create MyTwoFrontTeeth.org in 1999. The Web site launched by the Stanford University graduates has helped distribute more than 2,500 gifts to children in Northern California — mainly by word of mouth. The organization works with partners Family Giving Tree, the largest gift giving nonprofit in the Bay Area, and the Kiwanis Club to identify needy children who may not receive anything for Christmas. MyTwoFrontTeeth.org plans to expand its coverage next year by working with community organizations nationwide. Those interested in working with MyTwoFrontTeeth.org are invited to contact the organization by e-mail for further information.

Home Page:
The site's home page introduces MyTwoFrontTeeth.org and its mission and invites users to begin searching for a child to sponsor. In addition, several buttons on top of the home page lead to the About, FAQs, Privacy, and Volunteer sections of the site.

Outstanding Feature:
MyTwoFrontTeeth.org provides toy catalogs to its partner community organizations that work with underprivileged children. The organizations then distribute the catalogs to children, who choose one of the twenty toys that cost less than $25. In addition to specifying which toy they want, the children write on cards their names and ages, as well as some information about themselves, and draw a picture. After MyTwoFrontTeeth.org receives the cards, it scans the kids' information and drawings and posts the profiles on the Web site. Donors can browse through the profiles of children, choose one to receive a gift, and pay for the gift online with a credit card. The toys are purchased through MyTwoFrontTeeth.org's distributor, Namco Toy, and are shipped to the community organizations before Christmas.

Honorable Mention:
The proceeds from the purchased toys are used to fulfill the Christmas wishes of any children who were not selected by sponsors. Any remaining funds are distributed to the partner community organizations.

CEO: Josh McFarland

Main Office:
88 King St., #106
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: (650) 580-8833
E-mail: info@mytwofrontteeth.org

posted: 12/17/02