After visiting Uganda in February of 2010 and holding hundreds of children without moms and dads, Joe and Jessica Honegger (the founder) decided to adopt internationally (from Rwanda). Also on that visit, they met up with long time friends who had lived in Uganda for many years trying to create sustainable income opportunities for the Ugandan people. They asked Jessica if she would like to sell the fair-trade locally made goods in Austin, in order to raise money for the costly adoption process. Jessica agreed and the first Noonday Collection trunk show was born! You can read more about her story here.
Word spread quickly about Noonday's envied products and the lives they impact. Other women wanted to style their friends while advocating for women and kids. Soon, the Ambassador program launched and Noonday Collection will soon be found in a home near you!
At Noonday Collection, we believe every child belongs in a family. While the owner is no longer raising money for their Rwandan adoption (though they think more adoptions will come), the vision remains the same. We advocate for the orphan by:
- Providing jobs that create a pathway out of poverty for women. A stable income means a family is less likely to abandon their child.
- Help families fundraise for their own adoptions. We give10% of trunk show sales directly to the adoptive family when they host a trunk show.
- Aside from donating 10% towards qualified adoptive families, Noonday Collection Foundation gives net proceeds towards orphan care and prevention. Watch the video to see one of our main beneficiaries.
- The dream: Take YOU on a trip to visit artisans and visit orphans in their distress.
Awesome right.... I met the girl who runs Noonday at the T4A conference I went to back in October. She is really awesome and super friendly. I love everything they carry and more than that the cause!
One of my favorite things Noonday carries are the Sseko shoes!! I die. They are so great! Here are a couple of the straps they carry...
Cute Right!! Again... I die.
Well today I got my pair in!! I am so in love. I may wear them everyday!! Here is a-little about the Sseko movement....
If you happen to find yourself in Kampala, Uganda, make your way to the Old Taxi Park. From there, grab a taxi van to Matuga. Jump off at the end of the line, and hop on a boda boda to the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. After a (bumpy) ride along a dirt road, you will find yourself in the company of some of the most intelligent and committed young women in Uganda.
These women are graduates of the Cornerstone Leadership Academy and employees of Sseko Designs.
Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help these bright young women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.
Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not makesandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.
Sseko Designs is a not-just-for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country's educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.
Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives. Like the lives of Mercy, Mary and Rebbecca.
Every sandal has a story. This story has only just begun, but with your help, it will be a story of hope, success and change.
Hear the whole story for yourself. To invite Sseko to your event, inquire here.
Again... BEAUTIFUL!! I will have more info on the BIG Noonday/Sseko party next week so stay tuned for that. You will be able to see these at the party and order your very own pair.
Until then you can read more about Noonday and Sseko by clicking the picture under the "Need Shoes" in my sidebar....
(Yes, those are my feet, I realize I have the feet of a child. They are as wide as they are long and I have stubby toes. Don't judge me ;)...)
(Yes, those are my feet, I realize I have the feet of a child. They are as wide as they are long and I have stubby toes. Don't judge me ;)...)
love it :)
ReplyDeletecan't wait to have a SHOW!!!!!
love you!