We all love to make jewelry with silver charms but did you know that your last charm purchase helped orphans in Bali? Though you won’t see them when you visit as a tourist, Bali has a community of about 4,000 orphans. In the past, when these children became ill they often went without treatment.  Bali Kids was opened in 2009.  The project provides a clean, safe environment for orphans requiring special care. The center is open to any children registered in Bali’s orphanages who need medical attention. Children from the local village who’s family hold a ‘poor family card’ can also receive free treatment and care.  Bali Kids also operates a mobile medical team that treats 600 children a month. In addition, they teach hygiene, health and diet to orphanage staff and in local schools. Nina Designs made a $1,000 donation to Bali Kids in February 2011. Thank you for helping us help these kids!

It is our privilege at Nina Designs to create and sell silver charms and pendants.  During the holidays we try to pause and remember the less fortunate members of our global community who struggle to secure food and shelter. I am always excited when I learn about programs that harness the power of creativity to solve social problems and help women improve their economic prospects.

This holiday season you might find a small pack of handmade paper beads in your Nina Designs shipment. These beads are from a nonprofit organization called BeadforLife. This organization trains women in Uganda to  “.. make gorgeous handcrafted paper beads from recycled paper and turn them into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.  Because the beaders use recycled, colorful paper, the beads help prevent environmental degradation.  What was trash becomes beauty, money, food, and hope”. Even better, their goal is to help these women become independent of BeadforLife within 18 months. To facilitate this transformation, they provide entrepeneurial training and assist women in launching their own small businesses. They also provide other social services, funded from the net profit of their bead sales.

Last month I was at an event where two friends showed up wearing BeadforLife bracelets. One woman bought hers at a Church bazaar, the other at her Synagogue.  Why not organize a BeadforLife sale in your community? Click here for more information.   

Click here to purchase loose beads or jewelry.

WAGES: A Better Living, A Better Life

Our Silver Pendants are fun and inspiring but did you know that your purchase helps  Give Back to the community? I recently attended a fund raising event for WAGES, a non-profit organization that trains Latina women to form collectives and clean houses with green cleaning products. A recent study showed that the household income for women in these collectives often increases by 80%! In addition, their health improves dramatically because they are no longer exposed to the toxic chemical cleaners they are forced to use in many traditional cleaning and janitorial jobs.

I was honored to contribute to WAGES. Even better, while I was at the event, I ran into Mike Hannigan, President of Give Something Back. His company donates 100% of the profits from their office supply business to worthy non-profits! We went online to compare prices and found Give Something Back extremely competitive. (We just ordered 100% recycled printing paper from them for a lower price than we were getting at Office Depot). Now, every time we purchase office supplies we have a chance to Give Back to our community. What an amazing idea!

This holiday season, consider purchasing your office supplies from Give Something Back!

Sterling Silver Charms from Nina Designs come in hundreds of shapes but we are always looking for new ideas. We also like to give thanks during this holiday season by making donations to prevent hunger. We thought it would be fun to combine our passion for silver charms with a food drive. Just leave a comment with your idea for a new silver charm and we will donate $1 to the Alameda County Community Food Bank. We’ll donate another $1 if you find Nina Designs on Facebook or Twitter, and leave your silver charm ideas there too! We have had requests for football charms, bear silver charms and kitchen utensil silver charms. What is your silver charm request? Think about it while you cook and feast. We will run this silver charm/food drive through November 28th. Bon Apetit!

An excerpt from Alameda County Community 2010 Hunger Study: “Children make up the largest group of people receiving emergency food in Alameda County. Alarmingly, this study reveals that demand among minors is escalating at a rate disproportional to the population in general. Seniors also remain particularly vulnerable to hunger. For low-income seniors, many of whom are already susceptible to chronic diseases and disabilities, a lack of access to nutritious food often triggers depression”.