Emerge Sale in Michigan!

Posted by Ellen on Thursday, January 28, 2010

There will be an Emerge sale this Sunday, January 31st, after each service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing in East Lansing, Michigan. The Unitarian Church, with its emphasis on social justice and equality, is excited to hold an Emerge sale to help the girls in Sri Lanka. The Emerge sale will be run by Ann Sojka, who has participated and volunteered in various Emerge functions since 2008. She is currently an Urban Planning Junior at Michigan State University, and after she graduates she plans to pursue a career in Transportation Planning. Her activities include the Women's Glee Club, NSCS and the Honors College.

Ann heard about Emerge from her sister Ellen (aka me), who has been very involved in the non-profit over the last several years. Ann was touched by the stories of the girls from Sri Lanka, and decided to do something to help. She has participated in Emerge events, assisting her sister in selling jewelry, taking photographs, and spreading the word.

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Kulturasia DBA Bead Express Donates $3500 of Beads to Emerge Global

Posted by Alia on Saturday, January 09, 2010

I always look forward to coming home for the holidays- not only because I get to see my friends and family, but because I get to visit some long-time Emerge Global supporters who run a bead company here in Asheville, NC. Kulturasia DBA Bead Express isn’t your traditional bead store- it’s are a store on wheels, peddling its beautiful jewels across the country. Will and Hae, who run the company, live in my hometown and their basement stores their incredible inventory. Having loved beads since I was seven years old, seeing the shelves and shelves of sparkling beads makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. I wish I could bring the girls to see the way they manage their inventory!

For the third year in a row, Kulturasia DBA Bead Express helped us sustain our Bead Program by making an extremely generous in-kind contribution to our work. In fact, they were so generous that I’ve been carrying more than 200 pounds of shiny and colorful beads (that’s right — 200+ pounds) in the back of my mom’s car for the past two weeks, waiting to ship them off to Sri Lanka. These beads, bundled in five large boxes, take up the entire back seat! (Thanks mom, for your patience).

I spent much of today cataloging and sorting the donated beads, dividing them into spring and fall colors for 2010 and separating out the new styles that the girls haven’t worked with before (they are going to LOVE having some of the new material to work with). We have some beautiful new types of beads so get ready for some new products coming this spring! Stay posted for some blog updates on new product design soon.

In the meantime, a big thank you to Hae and Will Saxon for supporting Emerge Global through their bead business for their third year in a row!

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