Amy Koman, Chill Frozen Yogurt

Each semester, the Bill & Amy Koman Award for Excellence in Community Service is given to the teams that best demonstrate creativity, teamwork and shared commitment in planning and executing their community service project. This award is given in honor of Bill and Amy Koman whose tireless support of Girls on the Run St. Louis and generosity throughout the St. Louis community exemplifies a true commitment to improving the lives of others.

In addition to their tireless support of the St. Louis community, Amy is the founder of Chill Frozen Yogurt and mom to three Girls on the Run. Not only does she support the program as a parent, Chill Frozen Yogurt has been a long-time partner to GOTR supporting our races and our volunteers. They have provided significant support to our mission and program as a way to help better our community- together we’re empowering a generation of girls with the tools they need to change the world!

Here’s Amy’s story in her own words…

What is your relationship to Girls on the Run St. Louis? When did you first get involved? All of our girls have participated in the Girls on the Run program. Nicole, age 15, entered her first race at age 6 and started the program in the 3rd grade, and as a family we would all participate in the races. So that means Laine, age 13, and Blaire, age 11, began running the races at a very young age.

What impact have you seen on yourself, your daughters and your relationships since becoming involved in this program? Because of the GOTR influence, which coincides with our family values, our daughters have developed a love of sports.   As a family, we continue to run today as part of our active lifestyle. In addition, I have served on the GOTR-STL board for three years, spearheading several large fundraisers and currently serve on the GOTR-STL Advisory Board.

What is the history of Chill Frozen Yogurt? How did you grow this business in the community? The inspiration for Chill Frozen Yogurt came from a trendy concept from Southern California that we fell in love with and wanted to bring back to St. Louis. We saw this as a good business opportunity as well as one in which our girls could participate. As owners of Chill, the girls are learning the principles of business development and the value of giving back to the community.

What is the community engagement philosophy of Chill Frozen Yogurt? Our business is to serve the community. We believe that excellence in product and involvement in the good of the community is a win-win. From day one we have donated a portion of all proceeds to Friends of Kids with Cancer. We are sponsors for GOTR-STL, COCA Summer Camps for Kids, Ride For a Child Program with Pedal the Cause, and exclusive fundraisers with Washington University student and community organizations. In our promotions we continue to give these different partners access to store events, special offerings, etc.

Why did you decide to partner with Girls on the Run St. Louis through Chill Frozen Yogurt? The GOTR-STL program is a perfect fit for the values behind Chill Frozen Yogurt…healthy lifestyle and community involvement. It’s our belief that our partnership with GOTR-STL helps spread the word on the value of the program.

What is the most rewarding thing about your partnership with Girls on the Run St. Louis? Why would you recommend others partner with Girls on the Run St. Louis? There are lots of rewarding aspects about partnering with GOTR-STL. But the basic reward to us is the satisfying feeling of unity with a happy and successful school program and family event. We would tell others we can think of nothing better than sponsoring an organization dedicated to self-respect and a healthy lifestyle, and last but not least family fun!

As we celebrate 10 years and serving more than 10,000 girls we couldn’t have done it without the support of partners like Amy and Chill Frozen Yogurt. We look forward to serving the community for another 10 years.

Contact Katy Sommer to find out how your company can help us change the community together!

view link to learn more about Girls on the Run and how to get involved! http://bit.ly/YEOPZR

Employees, friends, and family of  Chill Frozen Yogurt rode in Pedal the Cause on Oct 7, 2012 in honor of  Sierra.  Sierra is  a six-year old little girl who was diagnosed in October 2011 with t-cell ALL.    Team Chill made this  ride about a celebration of Sierra’s  strength,the strength of her family and a beautiful spirit full of life and love.

Currently, Sierra is doing well.  She is still on treatment and will be until about Feb of 2014. She just celebrated 1 year of remission on Nov 8th. She got sick  on Halloween and we ended up in the hospital but she got out on Nov 8th. It was one of our shortest hospital stays. It took a long time for her counts to recover but they finally did on Nov 29th when they checked them in the clinic.  She has been home bound from school since she got sick in Oct. She misses her friends but really enjoys working with her tutor.  She has been going to dance class and spending a lot of time doing crafts, making cookies, and loves helping in the kitchen.

Always going beyond the expected – Chill owners and employees continue the tradition this morning in launching their sign-up drive for Pedal the Cause. All welcomed this years honoree Sierra and her whole family who enjoyed meeting the staff and sampling new product.  Pedal the Cause Ride will be held on Oct 7 and the staff will begin today to sign up and encourage others the join in this exciting race now in its 3rd year.

JOIN TEAM CHILL – HIT LINK FOR DETAILS! http://www.pedalthecause.org/student_riders.jsp

Chill Clayton hosted a end-of-school bash across the street at Wydown Park.  Kids gathered and enjoyed cups of Chill sold at the park while rock’n out to the awesome band Lunar Levitation.   Hit the link and check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5qXVwaXuI&feature=plcp