I have a good friend from college who now works with Mocha Club, an organization that is dedicated to funding relief and development projects in Africa by giving up 2 mochas a month ($7) with other friends. Recently Marisa told me about another non-profit that she has been working with call live fashionABLE. It's mission is to "create sustainable business in Africa so that the women are not dependent upon charity, but instead are a vital part of a developing economy." I love that. I am a huge fan of all kinds of charity, but have been thinking how ineffective charity can be when it doesn't work towards breaking a cycle of poverty. I have worked with some organizations in Athens who collect and give Christmas gifts to needy families, and while I know children were blessed by the gifts, I'm not sure that the organization is really addressing the deeper issues of why these children are in poverty and need. All this to say, I love what Live FashionABLE is doing. They sell scarves made by women who have been marginalized by the effects of poverty & forced into prostitution. The profits of the scarves are sent back to train and restore more women, helping create and sustain businesses that benefit these women and their families. It's an amazing cycle that is bringing sustainable business into the fashion world. I love that it helps women work, helps them break from degrading work like prostitution, helps them feed their families, and that it's a way to strengthen a weak economy. Read more about how the cycle works and the specific women's stories here. What does this have to do with weddings? Live fashionABLE has been promoting their scarves as a great gift for bridesmaids and as part of the wedding day outfit. I think this is great for 2 reasons- it's practical and purposeful:) You could pick out a fun color to go with the dresses and it would make for some awesome pictures, and it would help keep bridesmaids warmier= happier if you happened to be getting married when it's cooler. Plus, you could wear it again! And it is blessing people who don't have much and contributing to breaking a devastating cycle. I posted the video here so you could see faces and hear the story of the man who started the organization...
