Caring through Candy

The Spirit of Giving

Our father grew up in Rotterdam during World War II and as such, he was subject to some of the most difficult living conditions imaginable. When he came to the US at age 29, he worked tirelessly to build a new life here in the “land of opportunity”. Knowing the difficulties that others face, he believed in and always taught us the value of helping others.

Let’s face it; none of us would be where we are without the help and support of the many people we have met in our lives and even some we may never meet. Since the founding of Marich, we have always felt the importance of giving back to the community and in sharing the good fortunes and support that we have received.

We are a wholesale manufacturer of confectionery products manufacturing gourmet candy for over 21 years. Yet after all this time we are still difficult to find, therefore we decided to offer our products for sale direct in order to make our product more readily available. In the planning process we thought, “Why not put this to good use and direct a portion of the sales to charities?” Yes, that is portion of sales not profits. Why? Quite simply because 5% of sales is a lot more money than 5% of profits!

The Charities we Support and Why

American Cancer Society
Marinus van Dam, our dad and founder of Marich died of colon cancer in 1997. Since then we have also had several close friends pass away from various forms of cancer as well as many who are survivors. While walking around the track and reading the luminaries at the Relay for Life, we realized that virtually everyone has suffered through the sickness and loss of a loved one or the hard fought battle of survival. We hope to live long enough to see a cure and are proud to support cancer research. For support as well as to learn more about the progress and programs of the American Cancer Society, please visit www.cancer.org

Make-a-Wish
Most of our charitable activities have centered on children. We are not sure why, it just turned out that way. If you asked us today, I would have to say that adults can generally take care of themselves. Children often suffer silently and during what is supposed to be the best time of their lives. It is our opinion that supporting children is an absolute must and after considering many options, we found Make-a-Wish to be a very worthy cause. As parents, we feel that all children deserve every opportunity to do well and thrive. To see the wonderful things that Make-a-Wish has brought to the lives of others, please visit www.wish.org

Conservation International
The environment brings us back to children. We want to see our children grow up in a world as beautiful as the one we had the pleasure of living in, a world where they can experience incredible people, places, and wildlife. To walk along a clear flowing stream, to hike through a rainforest, drink clean water, to view our incredible wildlife in its natural habitat, and climb pristine mountains. In order to do that, we need to ensure that we do our part to protect the vital and valuable ecosystem that is our World. Conservation International is committed to maintaining a healthy biodiversity and working toward a future where human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. For information on the activities and successes of Conservation International, please visit www.conservation.org

You Choose Where the Donation Goes
With each order we give you the power to choose which of the three charities the donation goes to. Before submitting your order, you will be asked to click the charity of your choice. This way, you can support the vision you have while helping us fulfill ours.

Community programs we are involved in
Over the years Marich has maintained a quiet presence in many community programs. Our goal is to assist those in need the best way we can through giving to the community that supports our business to share the good fortune that we have experienced over the years. The programs we have been active in are:

• Regular candy donations to the Community Pantry for distribution to disadvantaged families
• Contributions to Small Steps to purchase school clothing for children in need
• Support for local schools (donations for raffles, school sports, sober graduation, cheerleading fund raiser, purchase school band uniforms, etc.)
• Private activities to annually provide Christmas/Thanksgiving to a local family
• Participation in our Local Kinship Wine Tasting fund raising event to support our adoption center
• Candy donations to Western Service Workers in Santa Cruz & Watsonville to aid disadvantaged families
• Candy donations Nationally to Feed the Children
• Youth Sports Programs (Little League, Hollister Recreation, Youth Football, Volleyball and more)
• Too many more to mention but you get the idea

Community programs our employees are involved in and why?
Many of our employees are involved in programs to help support the people and activities in their community. This commitment comes from sharing time with friends and family through coaching youth sports, volunteering their time to their local faith based organizations as well as personal commitments to programs near and dear to them for personal reasons. Our employees are active in the following ways:

• Coaching and Assisting Little League and Youth Sports
• Boy scouts, Girl scouts, YMCA and other youth activities
• Volunteering personal time to local charities, schools and faith based activities

The Lawyers Have to Have their Fun
We reserve the right to change, modify or eliminate any portion, policy or condition of the Caring Through Candy program as well as any of the charitable activities of Marich Confectionery Company. We may, at our sole discretion, change the charities or number of charities supported by Marich on a periodic or regular basis. We further reserve the right to suspend or discontinue this program in its entirety. In the event of a change in the charities supported, all unpaid donations up to the effective date of change will be totaled and a final check will be written to the discontinued charity. In the event that the program is suspended or discontinued in its entirety, all unpaid donations up to the effective date of suspension or discontinuance will be totaled and a final donation will be made to each of the charities. Marich Confectionery is not affiliated with any of the charities supported other than in the sole capacity as a participating donor and as such; we have no participation in or responsibility for their management, governance, or control. Please direct all questions related to this program to Brad van Dam at the 800 number listed or via email as provided on the Contact Us page of this website.