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mission:change began with an idea that my husband, Todd, and I had back in the fall of 2007. We had recently become aware of a local family raising money through various fundraisers for their eight-year-old son, Easton, who had been born with muscular dystrophy. Easton had recently undergone four surgical attempts to correct an intestinal vovulus, ultimately leaving him with only four inches of small intestine. While Todd and I have always been and continue to be enthusiastic supporters of different charities and organizations, from the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation to Special Olympics Georgia, we still were somewhat disappointed to see that such worthy local causes like the Save Easton campaign could be so easily forgotten in the background, even in our own community, without the funds and exposure that well-known national organizations receive. Yet this frustration only led to inspiration. As if it was meant to be, right about that time Todd and I had been designing a specialty line of hand-painted necklaces that we planned to sell through our small pottery studio in Albany, Georgia. With Easton and countless other inspiring local causes in mind, we realized it was time to give back to the community that had blessed us and our pottery business. And so with the help of our friend, Stacy Stoner, and my brother-in-law, Bret Urick, mission:change was born and ready to turn the spotlight onto those local causes and individuals who are just as worthy of an open heart and helping hand, but who lack the widespread exposure of international foundations. What's in a name? For us, everything. The mission:change name is a proud title of who we are and where we are going. Our entire business philosophy can be summed up in those two simple words. First and foremost, the mission of our name refers to our reason for being - the local causes, individuals or families in need of communal help. Just as every journey has an ultimate destination, so will each mission have a goal - a set dollar amount we and the people involved seek to obtain before succesfully labeling it "Mission:Changed." This goal will be met through the sale of our general line of jewelry and apparel as well as mission-specific items - those products which are designed specifically for a particular cause. Over fifty percent of the proceeds from every product sold will go directly to one of the missions we've adopted, their stories detailed in the tags attached to each product so our customers know exactly which cause or individual their purchase supported. The mission of our name also represents our drive for positive change. We aren't so naive as to believe that we can change the whole world, but with the help of an international community we can certainly change someone's world. That's what we strive for, change you can see daily, change you can grasp. Change that, if given the chance, can spread from one community to another to another, like rows of cascading dominoes. The truth of the matter is that we all have the power to make a positive difference in someone's life, even through our everyday purchases. If we all come together and remember that the least of us is first, what a different place - a changed place - this world could be. With much love, |
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All content copyright 2008 mission:change®, All rights reserved. |
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