Media Contact: Dana Todd

COLUMBIA, SC – December 21, 2006 – Men who need the perfect last-minute gift for their wives or girlfriends will be happy to know that ChicksLoveChocolate.com opened its online store this month. Founded and owned by Melanie Lobel in West Columbia, ChicksLoveChocolate.com has gifts – from apparel to chocolate-scented soy candles to Belgian chocolates – that can be ordered through its web site.

Lobel is giving 10 percent of all net profits from the sale of products to statewide charities and non-profit organizations that help women. Current organizations include: SC Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, YWCA, Center for Women, SC Women’s Political Action Committee, and United Way Association of South Carolina.

Lobel, formerly a pharmacist and a licensed child psychiatrist, says she has dealt with a lot of women and noticed the state has minimal services in the mental health field to help them. ChicksLoveChocolate.com has been created to provide products women enjoy and to create additional funding to shore up the missing resources for women.

"After failing to start a Women’s Center here in Columbia, Chicks Love Chocolate.com was a fund-raising idea I thought would also make a great small business. It takes chocolate for charity to a new level! I have enjoyed coming up with all the products and sayings for chocolate lovers. Soon, we’ll be expanding the products to include unique chocolate combinations such as chocolate zinfandel, chocolate orange for our soaps and candles along with adding dark- chocolate boxed chocolates and caramels. I hope this is something all genders and ages can support and that it brings a smile to everyone, too," said Lobel.

"We are proud of the successful businesses we’re helping to grow in South Carolina," said Haidee Stith, executive director of the S.C. Women’s Business Center. "Melanie has created a unique business that also gives back to the community, and we are happy to be a part of her success."

SCWBC assisted Lobel with business setup logistics including insurance protection, computer software recommendations, and marketing. "The S.C. Women’s Business Center has given me the resources for a lot of things that I hadn’t thought about in starting up the business," said Lobel.

The South Carolina Women’s Business Center opened it doors in 2002 and has provided more than 7,500 hours of counseling to almost 1,500 women entrepreneurs in various parts of South Carolina. It was formed by the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) to assist the 128,000 existing women-owned businesses in South Carolina, as well as new female-owned ventures. It is a grant-funded program awarded to SCMEP by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Read more about the Center at www.scwbc.org.

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