The Next Generation, a volunteer organization founded to benefit the Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah, accepted a $2,000 donation from lifestyle designer Emily McCarthy, and owner of Emily McCarthy Shoppe located in midtown Savannah.

The check donation was made as a result of design company’s inaugural Invite Joy initiative, which was created to “invite joy” into lives near and far. McCarthy allocates a percentage of her annual sales to the Invite Joy initiative and donates to a selected charity each year. The Next Generation was the first Invite Joy recipient.

“Part of our goal here at the Emily McCarthy Shoppe is to ‘Invite Joy’ into lives near and far. The best hostesses hold the most important invitations of all, and that’s how we see our role here in the community. With our Invite Joy initiative, we pledge to give a percentage of our proceeds to a selected charity each year, and share happiness as we go through our daily routines.”

“With every purchase at the Emily McCarthy Shoppe, customers impact someone else’s life in small, but meaningful ways. In addition, we hope by spreading joy in this way, other businesses in the area will join together to make a greater impact on the community we are all a part of,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy’s Invite Joy initiative will benefit the Savannah Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in 2017.

One hundred percent of the net funds raised through The Next Generation events and corporate and friend contributions directly support the Willett Children’s Hospital’s most precious patients.