Today marked the third annual 'We Day'. It is the largest youth empowerment event of its kind, and it was held today in Vancouver, and will be held again in Toronto on October 5
th. How does this connect to us? In many, many ways.....
'We Day' is a
Free the Children initiative.
Free the Children is a non profit that started in Canada in 1995. A young boy, by the name of Craig
Kielburger, started this organization at the age of 12. At the age of TWELVE he got together 11 school friends to start fighting against child labour. What started in 1995 as what seemed like a relatively small movement, has now turned into something that has touched youth worldwide.
Free the Children program's are across Canada, empowering youth with knowledge, strength and momentum to know that they can change the world. Along with
Free Children, is an initiative called 'Me to We'. Me to We is a clothing line, which we are now selling in our stores. The line directly funds the
Free the Children program. 50% of the profits from Me to We sales goes directly to
Free the Children. The rest of the profits go back into the growing the clothing line.
This is why we decided to start carrying the Me to We line, as it fully matched our ethics and values. The clothing items are all made in Canada and are all made out of
eco-friendly fabrics. However, I don't think we quite realized the impact the clothing line would have until a few months ago. You see, Me to We is more than just clothing...its about relationships, stories and a movement that is
changing youth across Canada. Stories from customers who have met Craig
Kielburger. Stories from customers whose kids or grand kids have
fundraised for Free the Children and have had their lives enriched from the organization. Or, stories from customers who have attended these annual 'We Day' events. The stories have brought people together to talk about real issues, that go beyond just buying a shirt in a local store. The stories have created relationships between customers and our staff, and have most importantly awakened our awareness for what
more we could be doing. It is reasons like this that I believe my family does what is does with these smalls businesses here in Victoria and
Tofino. There is a movement happening. A movement towards fairly traded products and
environmentally friendlier choices being made. We are so proud to be a part of that.
So, with that said.....I hope my mum, a school teacher here in Victoria had an empowering time with her children from school at the We Day celebration today. I also hope her friend, a school teacher in Vancouver had a day to remember as the Dalai Lama spoke at We Day. And, I hope my uncle, the founder of this business I work for, had an enlightening day as he sat in GM place and realized what we are contributing to, and how we can do even more in years to come.
Want to learn more?
Click here.May you all have a 'Me to We' kind of year ahead :)
-
Megan
NEW at Ecoeverything.....Carebags! Reusable produce bags that you can buy your produce in, wash your produce in, and store your produce in! People are so great about using reusable grocery totes now...but what about the plastic veggie bags in the produce section? Carebags, along with your reusable grocery totes, mean a zero plastic grocery experience. Ladies - you can also use them also for your delicates in the wash! Available at Ecoeverything Victoria and Tofino starting at just $4.
This Thursday for 3 hours from 6-9 receive 25% off ALL merchandise at our Victoria store. The catch? A donation to the Mustard Seed Food Bank. Drop off your donation to any one of the participating stores and receive a stamp. The stamp is your passport to three hours of savings at all of the participating stores on lower johnson, yates and pandora. Hope to see you there!
Greenicci's Atlas T's are one of our favorite items for Summer 2010. The t-shirts are a blend of hemp and organic cotton, and are among one of the softest hemp blends we have every carried. The shirts have a nice drape to them, and are somewhat structured, making them a flattering alternative to some of our bamboo jersey tops. They are available in the colours above at Ecoeverything Tofino and Victoria for just $35.00.
Yipee! April 22nd is Earth Day and we at Ecoeverything want to celebrate with you. From April 19 through to the 25th ALL winter eco-fashions will be 25-50% off at both our Victoria and Tofino locations. This includes popular brands like Icebreaker, Nixxi, Lav&Kush and more! In addition to our sale, Ecoeverything Tofino is also busy planning our annual Earth Day Pancake Breakfast. Stay tuned for more details about our annual fundraiser, but in the meantime...do drop by and take advantage of our amazing Earth Week Sales!
