March 24, 2004 -- Same Differences launches Everyday Kids for teens with disabilities…and without!

According to Creating Keepsakes Magazine (the leading consumer scrapbooking publication), 24.5% of all U.S. households -- nearly one quarter -- scrapbooked in the past 12 months. The magazine's survey, "Scrapbooking in America," revealed that in 2003, consumers spent over two billion dollars in supplies ranging from simple glue to elaborate craft books, frames, and enhancements that depict picture-perfect scenes of traditional "nuclear families."

Scrapbooking and card making is the fastest growing craft segment in the Hobby and Craft Industry. Michael's Crafts has reported that scrapbooking products are their third largest retail sales area. Yet while the U.S. Census Bureau has put the number of disabled Americans at 54 million, nowhere is this diversity of ability reflected in scrapbooking.

The scrapbooking industry is currently serving mostly the Caucasian married woman, usually of Christian faith, and usually with more than one child. The market does not have many products geared towards those of different ethnicities/cultures, religion, unmarried men and women, non-childed men and women, senior citizens, or the disabled.

Kim Luty, the energetic powerhouse behind the Cards for Caring volunteer organization, created Same Differences to fill the void. A scrapbook product line that celebrates diversity by depicting the people with and without physical challenges interacting in everyday situations, Same Differences seeks to reflect the full spectrum of human experiences in a positive and motivational way.

The company's debut line, Everyday Kids, focuses on "tweeners," adorable teenaged boys and girls with bright eyes and winning smiles who simply happen to be sitting in a wheelchair, walking with their seeing eye dogs, or leaning on a cane. The positive effect on teens of seeing "people like me" in everyday situations is incalculable. "Crafting is not just fun, it is a powerful tool for reaching out to others," observes Lori Elkins Solomon, Author of Readin', Writin' & Scrappin': Scrapbooking as a Teaching Tool, and a Same Differences enthusiast. "Cards for Caring and Same-Differences provide valuable links between crafters and educational, social service and health programs across the country."

Fighting Prejudice
One of the biggest challenges facing Luty has been overcoming the conservative nature of retailers. "They're reluctant to try new things and tend to steer clear of things they consider outside the norm," says Luty who notes that two industry publications -- Scrapbook Premiere on the industry side, and Creative Keepsakes, on the consumer side -- seem to set the standards. "What they forget is that people with disabilities and other differences ARE the norm in everyday life."

Priced at just $2.99 per card, the Everyday Kids line is affordable to a diverse population, too. Each cut out card contains 6-8 images that may be cut out and used with adhesive in scrapbooks, backed with magnetic tape for magnets, or laminated for educational use. In the future, Same Differences will produce all of its lines in sticker format as well.

Adding to the value of these inspirational and empowering images is the care Luty has put into every step of their creation. All products are printed on 100% acid-free/lignin-free paper so that they are 100% safe to use in scrapbooks.

The Woman Behind the Scrapbook
From her home base in Marlton, NJ, Kim Luty is the engine that powers this new venture. A one-time IT professional with a background in software and engineering, she has always had an interest in scrapbooks. "I would put my pictures and other items into magnetic scrapbooks and write captions on labels. My friends always enjoyed seeing the results. Little did I know what exactly that crafty project would turn into!"

While it is far from her defining characteristic, Luty does acknowledge her own disability -- Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare skin condition -- was a catalyst in the creation of Same Differences and Cards for Caring.     "It made me aware of differences," she says, "and of how often we exclude people without even thinking."

A Melting Pot of Differences
A recent study released by the Hobby and Craft Industry Association indicates that Hispanics spend $1.9 billion on crafts annually, a number that should increase, as this "minority" is the fastest growing in the U.S. According to the study, which surveyed Hispanics in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Antonio, 63% of the respondents said that they had participated in scrapbooking in the past, and 31% are interested in learning more about it. However, it did not indicate how many Hispanics are currently scrapbooking.

This market disparity is also reflected in the disabled population. According to figures from a 1997 U.S. Census report, approximately one-fifth of Americans have a disability. Within that population, 77% of those with mild to moderate disabilities are able to work (ages 22-64). The number of disabled people is expected to increase as the "baby boomers" age.

Finally, the U.S. Census also reports that as of 2000, 28.7% of American households consist of married couples without children, 14.8% of households consist of single women, and 10.7% of households consist of single men. These populations are virtually ignored by the scrapbooking industry. Most products center around families and children and the lifestyle of adults without children is grossly unrepresented.

Luty decided that the best way to ensure that scrapbooking products be developed in a manner that was respectful and positive to people of differing abilities and cultural backgrounds was to start a product line of her own. It was the birth of a business that would become her vocation.

About Cards for Caring
Cards for Caring is a winning combination of Kim's entrepreneurial skill and her scrapbooking passion…with a liberal dose of inspiration from Kathy, her mother-in-law who works at a local senior citizen council.

Cards for Caring, the umbrella under which Same Differences is being launched, is a volunteer association made up of card makers and scrapbookers. Generous and caring, the craftspeople create greeting cards for chronically ill children and adults, the elderly, and any other group in need of a bit of TLC.

"Kathy wanted to teach a card-making class and then donate the cards to Meals on Wheels patients. I thought the idea was good enough to ‘do something with,' so I asked Kathy if I could run with it." Kim recalls. With Kathy's blessing, Kim decided to work towards that goal and in January 2004, Cards for Caring was born.

The Future
The road has been challenging and rewarding for Luty who is already looking to her next goal. Everyday Kids is just "the first step on a long road to inclusion," she says. April 2004 will see the addition of Everyday Seniors to the Same Differences product line.

Everyday Seniors will feature images of older men and women who are active and enjoying their retirement years. "We hope to expand into cultural and ethnic diversity representation later in the year," says Luty with enthusiasm.

Visit the Same Differences website at www.same-differences.com. For more information about the Cards for Caring program, visit www.cardsforcaring.org

Contact
Kim Luty
Same Differences
856-816-5780
press@same-differences.com



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