3.21.2011

bead for life

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All images in this post are ©csteinberg2007, and are used by permission of the photographer.

recently i attended a ladies night out with some lovely women here in town. a friend hosted a  bead for life party. until that night i had never heard of bead for life but i came away inspired by the organization and what they're doing in the lives of women in uganda. i want to introduce you to bead for life and possibly inspire you to get involved!
aren't they beautiful?

we watched the following video that tells the story of this wonderful organization. it's a little bit long, but i encourage you to watch the whole thing, it's worth it! 

we also got to watch a video tutorial on making paper beads & practice right along with the video. this is not as easy as it seems! sure you can roll it up any old way and end up with a bead, but to get pretty, uniform looking beads is hard!
rolling a bead
i left the party that night with four gorgeous bracelets and inspired by the work being done in uganda. i love what they said in the video about feeling the woman's hands who created my beads. what an amazing connection! 
my bracelets! this photo is {obviously} mine!
  according to their website the mission of bead for life is to create, "sustainable opportunities for women to lift their families out of extreme poverty by connecting people worldwide in a circle of exchange that enriches everyone."

BeadforLife is guided by the following principles:
  1. Creating businesses and jobs through entrepreneurial development is a more sustainable approach to poverty eradication than providing aid. Rather than becoming dependent on handouts from abroad, members build their skills and long-term capacities through meaningful creative work.
  2. Concerned citizens in resource-abundant countries care about the issues of extreme poverty and are willing to get involved.
  3. Paying the members fair trade prices allows them to meet their daily economic needs.   Investing 100% of our net profits in community development projects for impoverished Ugandans allows for a long-term sustainable future.
  4. Working together enriches all of us.
    {source}
i want them all!
getting involved is as simple as going shopping! you can buy jewelry as well as bags of beads to turn into your own jewelry at the bead for life shop online or visiting their brick & mortar store in boulder, co. if you want to do more, consider hosting a bead party. you can spread the word & help accessorize all your friends! bead for life will send you everything you need to host a party for free! info can be found here


also just a reminder that from now until april 15th, 10% of all sales from my etsy shop will go to the american red cross to help with relief efforts in japan. you can also donate directly through the red cross. thanks!

2 comments:

  1. this is such a great idea! making pretty things and getting the community involved, love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love my paper bead necklaces. Granted I didn't get them through bead for life since the organization I work for is based out of Uganda.

    ReplyDelete

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