As I spent time discussing racism in America with my friends and family, I started thinking about my sphere of influence in a newly found identity - business owner. Change can only occur when we commit ourselves to change in all aspects of our lives and use that commitment to impact our communities. Change happens in our homes, around the dinner table, in our school curriculum and classrooms, in our community resources, and in the voting booth.
Posting Black Lives Matter on our social feeds isn’t enough. There are so many anti-racism experts out there who we need to be paying, supporting, and lifting up. This blog post isn’t a book list or resource but instead an opportunity to share how I am embedding change through giving back in my business.
A few weeks ago I started discussing with my husband about how I thought I should be giving back and being clear about issues that are important. Handmade jewelry might not seem like a vehicle to promote change but anything done with heart can create change. As a small business owner I have control over a critical component - finances. I control where I spend my money in my business (I’ll chat more about sourcing supplies in another post). From this conversation the idea was born for Earrings for Change.
I’m really pumped about this because it blends my love of creativity, jewelry making, and supporting community organizations doing the hardest work!
So let’s get to it, some quick details -
- The earring for change will be an exclusive earring each quarter
- Each quarter a new community organization or charity will be chosen
- 100% of the profits from the sale of the earring for change will be donated to the organization (profits are all money earned after expenses)
- The earrings will continue to be restocked until the next quarter when a new earring is introduced
I’m so excited to kick this off with the July-September quarter and the gorgeous earring for change. The inaugural organization is Steel Smiling. The profits from the earrings will be donated specifically to their Black Mental Health Fund. Visit their website to learn how they are “bridging the gap between community members and mental health support through education, advocacy, and awareness”.
My hope is that we can learn about wonderful organizations together while supporting and utilizing small businesses as catalysts for change. I’ve seen so many small businesses and entrepreneurs supporting organizations financially in a variety of methods. The quarterly method resonated most with me because it gives me more time to promote and raise funds for the selected organization. It holds me accountable to giving back through my entrepreneurship all year long. I will share donation updates and totals for all organizations.
I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing to create change, organizations I should learn more about, and how entrepreneurs can create meaningful change.
And of course, I hope you love the Earrings for Change - I hand mixed and poured the perfect neutral earring - dark gray with a bit of dark silver shimmer and a lot of brilliant gold shimmer powder. The golden bronzed resin is swirly and every stud earring is unique. I hope that wearing them inspires you to be the change.
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