Craftistas for a Cause
I’d love to share a little bit about what we have been doing over at Craftistas. Many of you may know that we are in the process of beginning a monthly subscription business for DIY craft kits. It has been a fun ride thus far, getting things together for our launch. But as an entrepreneur and business woman, one of my strongest beliefs is that there is no point in beginning a business unless you somehow help others. This can be by giving back to the community, creating products that solve real problems, helping developing countries, etc. This is something that I feel VERY strongly about.
On this journey of beginning my own business, I’ve kept this near and dear to my heart. I’d love to tell you a recent story of how we have been able to do our part in helping others, no matter how small it may seem. So here it goes!
My sister has spent the past two and a half years as a Peace Corp volunteer in the Dominican Republic. In the DR, my sister is responsible for Community and Economic Development in her campo (the community in which she lives). I have the utmost respect and admiration for the things she does in the Dominican. I also have such respect for Peace Corp Volunteers in general and all of the projects they complete during their time away from the states.
Just recently, my sister hosted the 2nd Annual Somos Mujeres Conference in Santo Domingo. My sister actually began this conference last year as a way to empower women to gain control of their economic situations and to teach and learn from one another. My sister mentioned wanting to have a craft activity and I jumped at the chance to supply her with some craft kits. I wanted to do something simple, yet something that these women could use as an accessory. I decided to go with DIY fabric flowers. SO, I gathered up all of the materials and packaged them together and handed them off to my sister. At the conference, Kaitlyn handed out the kits and the women crafted away! Kaitlyn said the flowers were a huge hit and the women had so much fun crafting!
Hearing that feedback felt good. I was happy to have been able to contribute to such a successful event. But that feeling was nothing compared to the feeling I got when my sister told me how many of these women wanted to go back to their communities and make these flowers to sell them! HOW INCREDIBLE IS THAT? The fact that a simple craft, a simple tutorial, could do so much. Crafting just empowered these women to become entrepreneurs, to find a source of income, to find a job!
I truly love crafting and the feeling that it brings once you’ve completed that beautiful work of art, but nothing compares to the feeling of helping others. I just wanted to share that story in hopes to inspire you to be proactive in all that you do, and to always remember the real objective behind your business: LOVE OTHERS. Have a beautiful weekend and enjoy the pictures below of the Somos Mujeres conference.
-Camille
