Starfish Project, Goshen IN
Please welcome Deb Alwine, Sales Coordinator for the Goshen, Indiana Starfish Project.
Purpose: At Starfish Project, we help exploited women and girls experience freedom, establish independence and develop careers.
History: The Starfish Project began in 2006 as a small group of friends who could no longer simply walk by the women and girls we observed being exploited around our city in Asia. None of us had a business or jewelry design background. What we shared was a desire to restore hope and bring freedom. We never imaged that today our jewelry brand would be loved by women all around the world who share the same vision. Young girls sitting in windows under the red lights called us to action. We began by visiting brothels and building relationships with the women and girls we met. Little by little, we’d find a commonality and a conversation would begin. Week after week, we’d return to the same places. As the women began to trust us, they shared their stories. Many were tricked by people they loved and even sold into brothels. The following year, five women made the incredibly brave decision to escape their lives of exploitation. Knowing that leaving the brothel was only the first step in experiencing freedom, we launched full force into starting a business that would offer employment to our new friends. Inspired by our vision to celebrate the value and beauty of each woman, our jewelry company was born. We rented an apartment and this became our shelter and production area. The women made their first pairs of earrings around the dining room table. By the end of our first year in business, we completed our first large wholesale order of 60,000 pairs of earrings! By June, we outgrew the apartment and upgraded to a larger space as the women joining Starfish Project more than doubled! Equally as exciting were the birth of the first Starfish Project baby and the first Starfish Project wedding. Five years later, we had established the only safe house and training facility for women escaping exploitation in our city in Asia of over 20 million. With more and more women wanting to join us, we poured ourselves into developing high quality, on-trend jewelry, ready for the international market. During this time, we were approached by another group of women seeking to replicate the project in a different part of Asia. We expanded Starfish Project, and the Riverside Branch was launched. As we continued to grow, we saw the potential for women on our production line to develop careers in fields like photography and accounting. We had the incredible privilege to encourage and equip our friends with skills that could take them far beyond Starfish Project. The life transformations were, and still are, incredible! It’s a privilege to work alongside each woman, not only to make jewelry, but also to dream of a future for her and her family. Since that time, Starfish Project has grown into a highly successful jewelry brand. We are featured in household-name stores and fair-trade businesses all across America. We are proud that our jewelry business, now mostly run by women who have escaped human trafficking, is leading the way in on-trend designs and industry leading quality for ethical fashion. Yet, there are still many women and girls in exploitation today. We desire to see each one experience freedom. With your help, we can! Your purchases are an investment into this powerful mission to see women and girls experience freedom, establish independence and develop careers that will transform lives for generations.
For complete details visit: https://starfishproject.com/
This will be our final hybrid meeting - - you can attend in-person at Matterhorn Conference Center or virtually on Zoom at noon. Our next Monday lunch meeting is November 7 (we're off the fifth Monday, October 31) and we are removing the zoom option, please join us in person at the Matterhorn from November 7 forward.
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9601448006?pwd=WGhWc3h5MDByVlRORGcyYnN2WjROUT09
Meeting ID: 960 144 8006 | Passcode: 1917
See you there!