Time for some honesty. When it comes to the struggles of women worldwide, I've not done a whole lot. My heart aches when I hear the stories, when I recognize that being born a woman in many parts of the world is a life sentence, in a way. Yet I haven't really found my way of making a difference. I've been an observer of the situations, not a participant in remedying them.
But I may have just stumbled upon something that is right up my alley.
Over the weekend, I hosted a byTavi open house in my home. byTavi and a sister program, Daughters, have both been featured here before. You can read what Tiffany's written about them here and here. There are also links at the bottom of the page for more information about what these organizations are doing for women in Cambodia.
It was my sister-in-law, Carrie, who first introduced me to these products, the organization, and the story. One holiday, she unloaded a huge bin of scarves and bags. I'm a shopper. A lover of beautiful things. And I was so excited! We "shopped" for hours in the dining room. I bought things for myself and gifts.
That was over eight months ago. That night, Carrie suggested that I have a party. A simple idea. I have people over, show them the byTavi products, tell a little about the story of byTavi, and let them buy if they find something they like.
And honestly, it took me eight months to work up the courage. It seems silly, doesn't it. Having to work up courage for such a simple thing.
It actually took the prompting of a friend, who had never even seen the products, to get me to do it. We are in a book club together and she thought it would be a great idea to have the products out and available to the book club members when they came over for the monthly gathering. So I did.
And then, since I had three tubs of gorgeous stuff, I decided to build up my courage and ask the rest of my friends over to see what byTavi makes.
It actually took the prompting of a friend, who had never even seen the products, to get me to do it. We are in a book club together and she thought it would be a great idea to have the products out and available to the book club members when they came over for the monthly gathering. So I did.
It was a great evening. I sent out an email invitation to about twenty gals and gave them the website ahead of time so they could look at some of the products. Ten or so of them came to browse, try on, and check out the bags and scarves.
Basically, all I had to do was display the products and collect the payment, though I did also provide some fresh flowers, snacks, and drinks.
It was a great way to spend an evening. It felt great to introduce some of my friends to the lovely products and the good work that byTavi is doing for women in Cambodia. Women with children who are worried about things I've never even had to consider.
Thanks byTavi, CGI, and Carrie for letting me in on this amazing experience.
If you think you'd be interested in hosting a party like this, you can get in touch with the right people by going to the byTavi website. Again, the link is at the bottom of the page. Also, byTavi and The Center for Global Impact are on Facebook.
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