{"id":48405,"date":"2016-06-22T15:54:46","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T19:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.com\/?p=48405"},"modified":"2018-01-04T14:44:17","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T19:44:17","slug":"uncommon-impact-the-international-rescue-committee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/2016\/uncommon-impact-the-international-rescue-committee\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncommon Impact: Counting Beads, Caramel, and the IRC"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a certified B Corporation<\/a>, UncommonGoods is excited about sustainability. That means more to us than just being \u201cgreen\u201d\u2013we strive to offer products that reflect the environmental and social best-interests of everyone. So, when our makers are as concerned with sustainability as we are, we\u2019re always eager to learn more<\/a> about their process and the positive impact they\u2019re having on the world.<\/p>\n

While many of our makers rely on sustainable practices at one point or another in their process, we\u2019re especially excited about those who place the wider world at the forefront of their craft\u2013those who are making an uncommon impact.<\/p>\n

\"IRC<\/a>

The International Rescue Committee is providing cash support to women-led households with the greatest need. Here, IRC staff ask a Syrian refugee about how effective she thinks the program is and whether it can be improved. | Photo: Ned Colt\/IRC<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n


\nThanks to the omniscient power of the world wide web, working with the “wider world” in mind seems more accessible than ever before. Whether or not it’s for the greater good, no one can argue the impact of the social media grapevine and its incredible potential to speak\u00a0to millions of humans\u00a0in mere seconds. But when it comes to genuinely gracing the “wider world,” truly leaving\u00a0a life-changing impact through\u00a0all corners of our globe, it’s hard to compare to the remarkable scale achieved by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) our newest Better to Give<\/a> partner.<\/p>\n

\"International<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, we were honored to officially launch our partnership with the IRC<\/a> on World Refugee Day<\/a>. Based out of New York City, the IRC is an organization that “responds to the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crises,<\/a> helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933<\/a> at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities <\/a>helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities.” (A look at the IRC’s\u00a0impact in 2015<\/a> alone is amazing!)<\/p>\n

\"IRC<\/a>

IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. | Photo: IRC<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In preparation for\u00a0our official launch, we decided to learn more about the IRC’s relationship with our artist family<\/a>.\u00a0It turns out that we didn’t have to look far to find makers\u00a0who have made an uncommon impact through the IRC. In fact, we only had to look a few miles outside of our\u00a0Brooklyn headquarters!<\/p>\n

We’re always on the lookout for designs that serve a purpose, solve a problem, stun us with their beauty, or make us wonder why no one thought of it before. So it was no surprise that our team fell\u00a0head-over-heels for the\u00a0Counting Beads Necklace<\/a>.\u00a0We’re all about\u00a0eye-catching beads that can be interchangeable worn as a\u00a0wrap bracelet or necklace, and we were even more excited when we\u00a0learned that 25 percent of profits from this handmade piece go directly to\u00a0the IRC.<\/p>\n

\"Counting<\/a>

Counting Beads Necklace<\/a> | UncommonGoods<\/p><\/div>\n

But what really gave\u00a0this piece an exceptional first impression was its design story. Based out of New Jersey, Chavez for Charity <\/a>creates fashion accessories created for the purpose of raising money and awareness for charitable organizations, like the IRC. The IRC worked closely with\u00a0designer Julie Marie Chavez to create\u00a0a special\u00a0gift\u00a0for the organization’s\u00a0annual fundraiser. Together, they\u00a0conceptualized a\u00a0piece to be modeled after the counting beads that health workers use to take toddlers’ vitals in remote parts of the world.\u00a0In remote communities, IRC-trained health workers use counting beads to diagnose pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children under five. As a timer counts 60 seconds, the health worker counts one bead per breath. If more than 49 beads are counted, the child is breathing too fast– a red flag for pneumonia.<\/p>\n

\"Counting

Counting beads in the field | Photo: IRC, Courtesy of Chavez for Charity<\/p><\/div>\n

After witnessing how well the counting beads jewelry was received at the fundraiser,\u00a0Chavez for Charity decided to introduce the Counting Beads Necklace to the public.<\/p>\n

“The Counting Beads Necklace is very special,” said Sharon Hitchcock<\/a>, UncommonGoods’ Jewelry and Accessories Buyer. “Not only is it a lovely piece of jewelry, but there is significance in its design. \u00a0In countries where access to healthcare can be scare, health workers use counting beads to identify children with pneumonia, and start life-saving treatment if needed. \u00a0That something so simple can be so impactful very much touches my heart.”<\/p>\n

\"Counting<\/a>

Counting Beads Necklace<\/a> | UncommonGoods<\/p><\/div>\n

On our side of the Brooklyn Bridge, we were lucky to have the opportunity to see the IRC’s vocational training in action. As you may have seen in our latest studio tour,<\/a> caramel maker Michelle Lewis<\/a> makes\u00a0her Brooklyn-based business\u00a0hum with the help of her employees Haron Mohammed and Lwin Lwin, a refugee couple from Myanmar<\/a> (Burma).\u00a0Since September 2015, Lwin and Haron have been essential in Michelle’s kitchen,\u00a0creating, labeling and packaging handmade confectioneries.<\/p>\n

“Their willingness to learn and their flexibility was inspiring, especially in light of how much personal difficulty they each have gone through.”\u00a0said Michelle.<\/p>\n

\"Caramel<\/a>

Haron Mohammed and Lwin Lwin packing caramel sauce in Michelle Lewis\u2018s kitchen<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

According to Michelle, Lwin and Haron\u00a0were given refugee status because of anti-Muslim persecution in their home country. About a year before working in\u00a0Michelle’s kitchen, the IRC helped Lwin and Haron get settled in Queens, NY.<\/p>\n

Michelle first learned about the IRC through an email promoting its New Roots<\/a> program, which helps\u00a0resettled refugees to become self-sufficient and contribute to their new home in the United States through community gardening, nutrition education and small-business farming.\u00a0She reached\u00a0out in response to\u00a0hiring through the organization and\u00a0invited the IRC team to\u00a0visit her space in March 2015.<\/p>\n

“What I most appreciate about the IRC is how much one-on-one work is done with the people they are helping. This is not a vast organization that hands out money or advice with little personal contact,” Michelle says. “This is an organization whose employees are extremely dedicated to the well-being of the individuals in their care. They understand the difficulties of displacement on a day-to-day level. They understand the cultural challenges of being dropped into a huge American city like New York. I think they really do get what it’s like to be a refugee and they assist with that sensitivity.”<\/p>\n

\"Spoonable<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking to make an uncommon impact? To donate directly to the International Rescue Committee, or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit http:\/\/www.rescue.org\/how-you-can-help.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

To celebrate the official launch of our partnership, we\u2019re doubling our donations to IRC (contributing $2 for every customer that selects the organization) through June 26, 2016. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are proud to welcome the International Rescue Committee to our Better to Give program. In preparation for our official launch, we learned more about how our artist family has made an uncommon impact through the IRC. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":48457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[315,2189,2193,1470,2188,31,1690],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48405"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48557,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48405\/revisions\/48557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}