Signature Coins Supports a Law Enforcement Organization’s Fight Against Breast Cancer
Based in Orlando, FL, Signature Coins has worked long and hard over the years to become an industry leader in the design and production of high-quality challenge coins. Recently, we were proud to provide our services to the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) Hammocks District to produce 630 bright pink challenge coins for their district in honor of October 2018’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Much to our honor, the coins, which were initially designed by members of the MDPD Hammocks District, are being sold by the district to both officers and the public to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. Scarcely a day into October, and we were surprised and pleased to learn the coins are so popular that they’re nearly sold out already.
“They’re super popular, everybody loves them,” said MDPD Officer Giselle Diaz. “We’ve offered them to the public, we’ve displayed them in our lobby, we’ve had people from other agencies around the U.S. ask us about the coins.”
“I have nothing bad to say at all, “You guys helped out even when we were a little stumped on what to do.”
The pink color of the Miami-Dade Police Department challenge coin was commissioned in honor of breast cancer patients and their families. In the United States, a projected one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, and according to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer afflicting women worldwide.
According to Officer Diaz, the Miami-Dade Police Department has raised money for breast cancer awareness each year for at least the past decade. Annually, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the department supports the cause by “going pink.” Districts throughout the department repaint their patrol cars, issue new badges, commission fresh patches and, as of now, award law enforcement challenge coins, all in bright pink. Partnering with charities including the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Pink Patch Project and the American Cancer Society, MDPD raises money to support cancer research by selling pink MDPD branded items such as police patches and shirts. Diaz says the Hammocks District has hosted a variety of events to raise money for the American Cancer Society including raffle prizes, t-shirt sales and dunk tanks, but this will be the first time the district has commissioned an official challenge coin for the cause.
The MDPD coin is being sold as part of the “The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” campaign fundraiser and features symbols on the design paying homage to the pink ribbon, an internationally recognized symbol of breast cancer awareness. The ribbon is displayed on the back face of the coin along with the words, “In this family, no one fights alone.” Priced at $15 a coin or $25 for two, the proceeds from the coin sales during the campaign will go on to support the American Cancer Society.
With a county full of a diverse and ever-changing population, MDPD outreach and support for causes including breast cancer awareness helps the organization forge stronger ties with residents. The Miami-Dade Police Department is one of the top 10 largest police organizations in the nation, providing law enforcement services to over 2.7 million residents in Miami-Dade County, not including the millions of visitors and tourists who flock to the county’s burgeoning tourist locales each year. Big sporting events, pristine beaches and lively nightlife activities attract a constant stream of visitors to the Miami-Dade area requiring an organized and disciplined law enforcement organization capable of maintaining order and policing the community. Time and time again, MDPD has demonstrated its competency in this role through a decentralized police force covering eight different districts and training specialized law enforcement officers including airport, seaport, marine, motorcycle, bomb disposal and SWAT units.
Transparency at Every Step
Why did MDPD approach us to design their first breast cancer awareness coin? The department asked Officer Diaz to reach out to multiple challenge coin companies to find the best fit for their needs and the traits that convinced her to partner with us included great pricing, an expert art team, and most importantly, our company’s immediate responsiveness to her needs.
“Whenever we had an idea or changed our mind with something, it was just a simple email or phone call,” Officer Diaz said. “Some [other companies] never even answered after an email or phone call or even after several phone calls.”
At Signature Coins, one of our keys to our success is a dedication to transparent communication with our clients. While we strive for perfection with every order, not everything is always perfect despite our best efforts, and sometimes production mistakes or miscommunications slip through the process into the final product. This is why every single order is also backed with a 100% quality guarantee. Should issues or discrepancies exist in an order, we’re prepared to replace those coins at no additional cost. One such production error occurred while working with MDPD’s pink challenge coins.
We had one set of coins that was not quite right,” said Officer Diaz in reference to an initial run of the MDPD challenge coins. With the initial order of coins, the text of the badge shown on the front face of the coin reading, “Sheriff’s Office Dade County FLA,” was intended to be produced in black in order to set it apart from the pink background of the badge. As you can see in the picture, Officer Diaz immediately submitted to us upon receiving the first order, where the text was produced in the same pink as the background. This mistake made it difficult to read the text.
We put our coins through a strict quality control process, but when errors like this slip through the cracks, it helps to have a customer as attentive and understanding as the MDPD. Officer Diaz took the photo and sent us an email detailing the miscommunication. “But it was taken care of instantly, it was no problem [and] you fixed it,” she said of the experience.
To correct our error, we immediately reproduced the MDPD coin with the correct black text. Unlike other companies, when an error is made, we don’t demand that the customer return a defective product at their own expense. Instead, we let MDPD keep the initial run of coins to do with as they pleased. Meanwhile, we made sure to eliminate the initial mistake on a second run and shipped it out to MDPD free of charge. We don’t profess to be perfect every time, but clients can count on us to make it up to them if there are any problems with their order.
Asked about her experiences working with us and whether there was anything we could do to improve the experience, Officer Diaz was left nearly speechless, she said:
“I have nothing bad to say at all. You guys helped out even when we were a little stumped on what to do.”
Challenge Coins Available Worldwide
At Signature Coins, we are honored to offer our services to all of our clients located worldwide, but we were especially proud of the role these MDPD challenge coins will play within both the department and the local community. Historically, challenge coins are used throughout the military to prove membership and maintain cohesion between members of a unit. By designing and distributing their pink challenge coin, MDPD reflects visible solidarity and support for breast cancer patients worldwide while simultaneously taking direct action to raise money for research.
No matter what occasion or organization, we promise only the highest quality products and best service to our clients. Signature Coins constantly looks for ways to connect to a client’s needs on a personal level and to provide challenge coins they can carry with pride. Whether meeting a need means adding unique localized touches such as an MDPD badge to a design, ensuring the right shade of pink to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or simply striving to deliver on deadline when we err, we work to ensure satisfaction.