Giving Back 2021 - A personal review
Well this has been a year of crazy-ness.
Who could have predicted such ups and downs. If I never hear 'Omicron' again it will be too soon.
My other top tip is don't move home and try and run a business from home - the result is chaos.
But that's not what I'm going to talk about today. (Though for those of you who have been asking for an update on Devon, there is something coming for you)!
That is not to downplay its impact on our lives in any way - I do appreciate the personal tragedies this virus has brought with it.
But I want to give you something more upbeat and positive as we think about 2022.
I want to start with a personal thank you.
Thank you!
The Rose Tree is a tiny business in the grand scheme of things. And all of you, my super local customers are magnificent; we are a small but powerful band of women.
And we make a difference.
Making A Difference That Changes Lives
Yup I want to repeat that.
We make a difference.
A real difference.
Not a fluffy, feel nice kind of difference - which don't get me wrong, is important.
But the kind of difference that changes lives.
Sounds over dramatic doesn't it?
But I promise you it isn't.
I always struggled with a way to make a positive difference, bit by bit, and making it part of what we do every day.
A large to remain nameless charity blithely told me that they were happy for me to make a contribution on behalf of The Rose Tree, but I couldn't tie it in with my business making glorious aromatherapy products.
And I wouldn't have any visibility of how my contribution would be used. Not unless I agreed to a legal agreement between us, which would have been fine, but not the cost of £3k I would need to pay to implement this.
When I suggested that perhaps there might be better things to do with this £3k, they stopped talking to me.
A Partnership with Buy1Give 1
That all changed with my partnership with Buy1Give1 (B1G1) - a social enterprise and non-profit organisation with a mission to create a world full of giving.
Unlike conventional giving models, B1G1 helps small and medium-sized businesses achieve more social impact by embedding giving activities into everyday business operations and creating unique giving stories.
And you know what?
Look at what we have achieved together!
To date, we've given more than 15,000 days of life saving water to families in Cambodia.
We've provided 439 days of access to a treadle sewing machine for women in Bangladesh, so they can run their own home based business and support their kids.
We've provided more than 8000 days of access to learning by providing school supplies.
Not to mention planting fruit trees in Kenya to generate an income for families, and trees in Borneo to support deforestation and orangutan populations.
So ladies here's to us - we are a magnificent bunch!
And maybe I should mention the men also. Those that buy gift for us, or the ever increasing number of guys that now use TRT goodies themselves - though usually after a discovery process following pinching their wives'/girlfriends' goodies.
I salute you.
With love,
Olga
PS I thought I would leave you with an update from the Trailblazer Foundation that works in Cambodia providing drinking water to families and villages:
Before receiving their well and bio-sand water filter, her family did not have enough water for drinking. Every day she and sometimes her oldest son would have to travel to collect water. He would sometimes miss school, but not anymore. She (a farmer, basket maker, wife and mother of three in rural Cambodia) is now able to use the water from the filter for cooking and drinking and the well water for washing clothes, vegetables and for their animals.
She says, “The well and filter are really useful and really better for my family. My family’s health does not have any more problems. The clean water saved my family’s life and saved our income which does not need to be spent on going to the hospital.”
