Black History Month is Both Personal and Professional
for Greeting Card Company Associate
CLEVELAND, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Damita Curry celebrates Black
History Month with family and friends, but on the job at American
Greetings, she has been preparing for the annual February observance
for months by planning a collection of the company's newest African
American greeting card line "In Rhythm."
"Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month mean a lot to all
of us," said Curry. "My generation certainly grew up appreciating
all that our parents and ancestors went through to get to this point,
but it's nice that the rest of the country designates the month
of February to acknowledge the pride in heritage we feel every day."
Curry, in her professional life, works part time as a member of
the American Greetings product development team responsible for
the company's ethnic greeting card lines, among others.
"Life is very full for me now, with the baby, working part-time,
home life and my husband's career," said Curry. "My friends are
important to me, but it gets tougher to see each other. There are
eight of us, friends from college, who used to get together for
'girl talk' regularly at what we called 'the ladies' luncheon.'
Because we're all so busy, it didn't happen this year. So we use
every occasion, birthdays, holidays, even Black History Month, to
drop a note in a card to stay close. So it's real special for me
to work on products, greeting cards, that are so relevant to my
life and so important to maintaining friendships."
American Greetings popular "In Rhythm" cards have been celebrating
the African American culture in words and illustrations since the
line was launched last February. For this year's Black History Month
in particular, Curry's team assembled a special selection of romantic,
birthday, friendship, miss you, and thank you "In Rhythm" cards.
The casual card line addresses woman-to-woman relationships, reflecting
the important roles of sisters, mothers, friends, aunts and grandmothers
in the African American culture.
Curry feels "In Rhythm" is one of American Greetings strongest African
American card programs because the illustrations, artwork, and inspiring
messages are reflective of the African American woman's lifestyle.
American Greetings has offered ethnic greeting cards for African
Americans for over 25 years to meet the birthday, holiday and everyday
communication needs of this growing segment of the population. One
"In Rhythm" card features a trendy black and white photo of two
African American women, close friends smiling at one another and
clinking their coffee cups together. The verse on the cover reads,
"I feel like I've known you since childhood, because you're such
a special part of my life now." Inside, the card reads, "You have
a beautiful way of being a friend."
American Greetings "In Rhythm" cards are an example of the way greeting
cards typify our world's changing lifestyles. Trend spotters at
American Greetings forecast color, style, language and social trends
in creative communications technologies.
One of these trends, "Uniquely Me," speaks to diverse attitudes,
heritage, humor and interests. American Greetings commitment to
cultural diversity is exemplified through product offerings such
as "In Rhythm" and "Baobab Tree," as well as the Company's extensive
Spanish card offerings.
In all, the Company has identified eight trends including informal
lifestyles, changing family dynamics, the pursuit of style, and
the search for spiritual meaning which have influenced the creation
of its fresh new products.
"In Rhythm" cards for Black History Month are available throughout
the month of February at participating supermarket, drug and mass
retail stores, as well as card and gift shops that carry American
Greetings or Carlton cards.
According to American Greetings research, the observance began with
Carter G. Woodson's "Negro History Week" (February 1-7), starting
in 1926. It was later changed to "African American History Week,"
and in 1976, became a month- long celebration. Woodson, historian,
publisher and a dean at Howard University in Washington, D.C., selected
the month of February, because, even
though the 13th Amendment to the constitution abolishing slavery,
the Emancipation Proclamation, was signed on January 1, 1863, many
slaves did not learn about their freedom until February.
American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator,
manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression
products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises
one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers
"say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs
to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. The
company markets greeting cards under the brand names American Greetings,
Forget Me Not, Carlton Cards and Gibson
Greetings. Business units include Balloon Zone, DateWorks calendars,
Designers' Collection stationery, Design Ware party goods, GuildHouse
candles, Learning Horizons educational products, Magnivision reading
glasses, and Plus Mark seasonal gift wrap and boxed greetings. American
Greetings employs more than 21,000 associates around the world and
drives more than $2 billion in
annual sales. For more information on the company, visit http://www.americangreetings.com/
on the World Wide Web.
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