SOCIAL ENTERPRISEMOTHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE

AMERICAN MADE. AMERICAN IMPACT.

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ABOUT REDFSince 1997, REDF has led the pioneering effort to create jobs and employment opportunities for people facing the greatest barriers to work in California—like people who’ve been in prison or homeless, young people who’ve dropped out of school, and those who live with mental health disabilities.

REDF believes the opportunity to work should be available to everyone, everywhere. We know the power jobs can have in transforming lives and communities.

REDF provides funding and expertise to social enterprises: mission-driven businesses focused on hiring and assisting people who are willing and able to work, but have the hardest time getting jobs. By earning and reinvesting revenues, social enterprises are able to provide more people with jobs that build skills, enabling them to realize their full potential.

Because of this work, thousands of Californians got jobs, and the 60 social enterprises REDF has supported earned more than $140 million in revenue. Now REDF is taking best practices learned from almost two decades of measuring our impact to grow social enterprise nationally and put thousands more people to work.

Click on the images below to watch videos about how a job can transform a life.

Visit our website to learn more: www.redf.org

See How Jobs Can Change Lives

Juan’s Story

See How A Job Can Create A Brighter Future

Patrick’s Story

DEAR FRIENDS,In 1991 my babies were born. Paramount in my mind at the time—learning how to swaddle them; remembering song lyrics so I could serenade them; and adjusting in a million ways to my new role as their mother. The authority on everything (at least until their teenage years), their protector, provider of everything from love to food to shelter.

While I adjusted to motherhood I was heading to a great job with decent pay and a future. I had a home. And because I had been fortunate in my family life, I had a peaceful haven and a loving, kind, supportive partner.

Being a mother is an incredible joy and privilege, and it is also stressful. There are the usual stresses—how are the children developing physically and mentally, who are they spending time with, are they safe, how to deal with the dozens of hurdles that life throws into the path—illnesses and prejudices, schools and neighborhoods to navigate.

For mothers who deal with the usual stresses, and also face tough barriers like unemployment, poverty, family violence and exploitation – raising children is akin to climbing the steepest of mountains in high heels, or picking your way through a field of unmarked mines. Really difficult, even scary, and often profoundly lonely.

This year, for Mother’s Day, you can deliver them some relief. Buy your Mother’s Day gifts from women who support women. The social enterprises in our Mother’s Day Gift Guide bring women into a circle of support, resources, and jobs. And all of them make beautiful, useful products.

Explore social enterprises that empower women in Denver, Nashville, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and buy Mom a gift that creates brighter futures.

Happy Mother’s Day

Onward,

Carla Javits REDF President and CEO @cjavitsredf

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Bright Endeavors is a social enterprise that provides low-income 18- to 24-year-old mothers in Chicago with coaching, guidance, and on-the-job training. These women gain valuable professional skills while producing premium soy candles and bath products. Bright Endeavors is more than a business and it is a pathway out of poverty.

All items available to ship nationwide at www.shop.brightendeavors.org.

Let Bright Endeavors light up your home with an amazing array of candles, bath products, and gift sets. All products are made with the highest quality soy waxes, fair trade soaking salts, phthalatefree fragrances, and other environmentally friendly ingredients. Materials are USA-made, recyclable, and eco-friendly, and employees are trained on green production practices. The women gain valuable work skills that empower them to economic independence.

>>> 10% off using the coupon code “MOM10”

Since 2007, Bright Endeavors has provided hundreds of young women with essential work and life skills. Participants are encouraged to develop new recipes for candles and bath products, and often their products are placed on the market.

Women’s Bean Project changes women’s lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise. Women’s Bean Project strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities. With this stepping stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families and create stronger role models for future generations.

All items available to ship nationwide at www.womensbeanproject.com.

Women’s Bean Project makes handcrafted, limited edition jewelry and gourmet food items. The colorful and charming jewelry is made by hand in Denver. The diverse food offerings include bean soup, chili, cookies, brownies, corn bread, dips, mixes, and salsas and includes a large selection of gluten free items. The production of these items empowers clients with skills that allow women to move on to careers that support them and their families.

“Tamra Ryan and Women’s Bean Project are front and center in the fight against poverty and chronic unemployment. These are topics we should all be discussing and social problems we should be trying to solve.” ~John Hickenlooper, Governor of the State of Colorado

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Thistle Farms is a social enterprise of women who have survived prostitution, trafficking, poverty, and addiction. The women earn income from making all natural bath and body products. Your purchase helps sustain the well being of residents and graduates of our two-year residential program MAGDALENE as well as many individuals and communities throughout the world. Thistle Farms stands as witness that love is the most powerful force for change in the world.

To learn more about our products, visit www.thistlefarms.org.

Thistle Farms creates natural bath and body products that are as good for the earth as they are for the body. Pamper yourself and your senses with fragrant lotions, bath salts, candles, room sprays, and body balms. Making these products helps women learn skills in manufacturing, packaging, marketing and sales, and administration.

Buying Thistle Farms products is an act of love. The products are made with the finest ingredients by artisans who nourish and heal their bodies and souls through their work.

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MADE by DWC is a social enterprise created by the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) that breaks the cycles of chronic unemployment and homelessness by empowering women to discover talents and develop skills through vocational opportunities. Its products generate economic and social capital to support programs at DWC.

Rebel Nell creates defiant jewelry with a purpose. Our mission is to employ disadvantaged women in Detroit and educate them on financial management, life wellness, and business to empower them to successfully transition to an independent life.

To learn more about MADE by DWC, visit www.MADEbyDWC.org.

handMADE is MADE by DWC’s line of unique products created locally by homeless and low-income women at the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles’ Skid Row community. MADE by DWC’s one of a kind gifts such as soap, candles, and journals are handmade using recycled and repurposed materials and with a commitment to connecting social profit to environmental sustainability.

All items available to ship nationwide at www.rebelnell.com.

Rebel Nell turns scrap pieces of layered graffiti into beautiful works of wearable art such as necklaces, rings, and cufflinks. The graffiti, just like Detroit, might look a little rough on the surface, but is made up of beautiful layers—just like the layers of people, ideas, and history that make up the city.

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www.redf.org

SOCIAL ENTERPRISEMOTHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE