Jeff and Brittany DeHaven started the Saginaw-based social media firm Digital Mitten in 2017. The husband-and-wife team provide social media consulting and marketing services for a variety of companies and organizations.
Even though social media is the company’s bread and butter, Jeff says that when they launched Digital Mitten, the DeHavens always wanted it to be more than a social media firm.
That’s why they’re celebrating the launch of Mittens for the Mitten, a charitable arm of the company that raises money to provide mittens for elementary school students.
While they hope to one day provide mittens to every school in the state, the Mittens for the Mitten program will begin locally. A percentage of every invoice the company files in 2021 will be set aside to provide mittens for the elementary school students of Bay City Public Schools.
“We’re starting the program in Bay City. The goal is to eventually help every school in the state. We also would like to make adult-sized mittens,” Jeff says.
“We see this as something longstanding that can meet the needs of the community for years to come.”
The idea comes back to Brittany DeHaven, co-owner of Digital Mitten and a teacher who has seen the effects a lack of winter wear can have on children.
The DeHavens have partnered with Pontiac-based Michigan Mittens to produce the cold weather gear.
Digital Mitten will take the money they’ve set aside all year and, once the fall hits, purchase the mittens for distribution.
Because Mittens for the Mitten isn’t an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations won’t meet eligibility requirements for tax purposes. That doesn’t mean the program won’t accept donations
and a GoFundMe page has been set up for those wishing to donate.
“The goal this year is to get at least one elementary school completely outfitted,” Jeff says.
Visit Digital Mitten online to learn more about the Mittens for the Mitten program.
Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
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