Nonprofit Spotlight: One Mother to Another Initiative

I grew up traveling a lot around Brazil, and each time my parents taught us about the states we visited.  I learned so much from those experiences and I firmly believe that's when my love for traveling, exploring and discovering cultures was born. I'm forever thankful and I hope to be able to do the same for my son.

When I was looking for unique maps and travel-themed items for our baby's nursery decor, I came across Children Inspire Design, a mom-run shop that sells modern, eco-friendly and culturally diverse art to help children learn compassion for our planet and all who live in it. I learned more about the company and its environmentally-friendly practices (recycled papers, soy ink, biodegradable packaging) and felt great about supporting it.

We purchased this gem for our babe's corner - a customizable map with star stickers to tag our adventures! So far Baby has California, Arizona and Florida tagged:


Children Inspire Design also partners with global women-and-children-focused initiatives to help them raise funds (more information here). One of those, the One Mother to Another Initiative. immediately caught my new-momma eye.

"We support a driving force stronger than any, the one that makes the world go around - mothers." 


I reached out to the the founder, artist, mother and social entrepreneur, Rebecca Peragine, to feature her here on the blog. I was thrilled she was not only happy to participate, she is also partnering with Travel the Unbeaten Path for a giveaway of my same print! (Keep reading for details.)

About One Mother to Another Initiative:

"Despite geographical and cultural differences, we are all connected by the love a mother has for her children. Every product in Children Inspire Design's One Mother to Another line is created by hands from mothers in impoverished areas in Mexico, Rwanda and Haiti. The money they earn through fair trade of these products offer economic opportunity, which provides independence and a lesson to their children, especially girls, that women can become strong and successful, that they can control their own future.When you buy one product, we buy two more from them. That gives them the ability to buy food, clothing, opportunity for their children. It also gives them a chance to grow their business, to invite more women to work. Ultimately, to take more power." (excerpt from CID website) Learn more and view OMTA products here.

Q&A with founder, Rebecca Peragine

Image courtesy of Children Inspire Design

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I've been a wanderer all my life. After college, instead of jumping into the workforce, I decided to move to a little island in the Mexican Caribbean and opened a coffee shop. The first day I moved there I met my husband. He was an Italian expat who owned a pizzeria. We lived a very quaint bohemian beach life for a few years until our first baby came. Giovanni was born in 2003 and we lasted another year and a half on the island until we decided we needed more for our little family. We needed extended family, a little more stability, a hospital within an hours reach:) So we moved back to the States. I started Children Inspire Design when I couldn't find any multicultural/ multilingual and global themed decor for children. I started by creating alphabet and number posters in 10 languages. The demand was staggering, so I just kept going with it.

2. Tell us more about the One Mother to Another Initiative.
The One Mother To Another Initiative started a few years back when I was designing products for a few women's co-ops in Mexico. I saw the opportunity to design artisan products, handcrafted and make with recycled materials, that were beautifully suited for a global nursery. So I created a collection and partnered with a co-op in Mexico, one in Haiti and one in Rwanda. The name One Mother to Another comes from the connection that the products make from one mother to another. It's a very rewarding part of Children Inspire Design.

3. What are some challenges and perks of combining travel, raising a family AND owning your own business?
Because we love to travel, the perks have far outweighed the challenges. Having said that, there are lots of challenges. My husband also works remotely, so we can find that we spend entirely too much time together. I've been able to work around that by working early in the morning and late at night, then using my day time to take care of family business.

Credit: Children Inspire Design Instagram
4. You recently shared photos of your 'home on wheels' . What is that like?
We have a 1964 Airstream that we spend a lot of time in. It's the best home we've ever lived in, including our real house here in CA. We've gone cross country, up and down the pacific coast and this year we're planning a trip from San Diego down Baja California. I could live in that thing forever. It's very freeing to be able to pick up and roam.

5. Aside from purchasing the OMTA products, how can our readers get involved and help?
The One Mother To Another Initiative has recently expanded, empowering our fans to use their voice to help raise funds for non profits globally. I've partnered with a number or organizations and offer 100% proceeds of a specific print to that organization for a short period of time, usually a week. Anybody can use the power of social media to help promote the fundraiser. I have a lovely tribe of global-minded moms who help promote the fundraisers and always welcome new friends to support our work.

Thank you Rebecca for kindly being a part of this post!

Now for the giveaway:

Enter on Rafflecopter by leaving a comment sharing some of the states you have visited (and your favorite one!) for a chance to win the US print for yourself or to gift to a loved one! (Read their blog post on why kids need maps). Giveaway ends and winners will be chosen on May 2nd, 2015.

Good luck!
Image courtesy of Children Inspire Design


a Rafflecopter giveaway


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30 comments:

  1. I wish that we traveled more, but B has only been HERE. There's plenty of time to expand his travelings, obviously, which we do plan to start very soon! Rebecca sounds like an amazing woman and mom. (I am kind of jealous of the house on wheels.)

    I love Hawaii and NYC. The beach and city are our favorite destination locations!

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  2. Rebecca is such an inspiration. Loved going through the interview.
    I have visited California, and I do love it. Haven't yet travelled other states, but hoping to that in future.

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  3. This is a lovely, inspiring idea. I don't have children as of now but I'll keep this in mind for the future. Thankfully my parents have raised me up with milk and travel ;)
    Valeria @ romenewyorklondonworld.com, found you through #TheWeeklyPostcard

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  4. What a fantastic interview, and what a great business concept. The name says it all.
    Great giveaway - shame we are in Australia!!!
    And totally get the idea of living in an airstream - we live in a Motorhome {not at the moment cause its getting repairs done} and we love the freedom it gives us.
    Thanks for sharing Rebecca behind the scenes story of her business.

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  5. Very inspirational post. Rebecca sounds like a great woman and mother. I'll make sure to forward this post to my daughter-in-law to see if she is interested in this giveaway. Thank you for sharing this and for joining #TheWeeklyPostcard.

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  6. Love this idea for your mini traveler!! This year we went to Asheville, NC which I loved! We also went to GA to see Savannah, can't wait to take Rowan to Florida next!!

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  7. cute giveaway! my husband and i love to travel and we cant wait to travel with our daughter. our favorite states are illinois (we met in chicago!), south carolina (we currently live in charleston), and oregon (we got engaged in portland). xo jillian - cornflake dreams

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  8. What a cute idea for a babe's nursery! Our son was born in Maine, now lives in South Carolina and has already traveled internationally!

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  9. Fabulous! I am looking for a mao for my sons toy room right now. I want a huge big world map for him to learn from. Just fab.

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  10. The map is really cute, and what better than for a good cause!

    diana | Life in German.

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  11. Such a cool giveaway! I haven't traveled too often but my favorite place to visit so far was New Orleans, LA!

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  12. Cute giveaway! Last summer my husband and I went to Chicago for the first time, and that has reached the top of my list. We can't wait to go back!

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  13. Texas will forever be my home and favorite! Currently, I'm living in Washington. I also love Missouri in the summers (a perfect mix of warmth and cool nights)!

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  14. so stinkin cute! Love the map and what a fabulous give-away!!!

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  15. Hawaii is my numero uno! Can't wait to take my little lady there sometime soon!

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  16. Oh wow! We have visited so many! Florida & California might be two of our favorites because of Disney!! HAHAHA

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  17. Of all the states that I've visited, I've loved Georgia the most. Beautiful and amazing history.

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  18. Of all the states I have visited, my favorite is Florida - great weather year round!

    kimberlybreid at hotmail dot com

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  19. my fave might be Kentucky, i love the rolling green fields and all the horses!

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  20. my fave might be Kentucky, i love the rolling green fields and all the horses!

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  21. I was in the military so I have been all over. My favorite state is probably Colorado. So beautiful!

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  22. I've visited New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Hawaii, and Colorado. Colorado was my favorite! I've been there twice and it's great.

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  23. I have visited all the East coast states, also, TX, IL, UT, WA

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  24. My favorirte state is WA where I live

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  25. I have visited Texas, Florida, Illinois and Indiana. My favorite would be Texas

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  26. I've been to Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia(D.C.), Maryland, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado & New Mexico. I get to cross Alaska off my list this summer! Favorite state was South Dakota.

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  27. I've been to about 25 states in my 10 years of living here. Not sure I have a favorite, but I do love NYC a lot... though not as much fun with kids these days!!

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  28. We have visited many states... CO, UT, AZ, MN, WI, IL, NE, SD, and WY but northern CA was our favorite!

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  29. Oh my, this map is a great idea! We've take road trips at least twice a year (on top of being a military family); our favorite states are OK and NC (where we're from and where we have so many memories).

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  30. I've been up and down the East Coast several times and a few states west of NY. My favorite place is Myrtle Beach, SC!

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Louise

About the Writer

I'm Louise, a Tampa Bay based Brazilian-American travel blogger. Join us as we learn and share the ins-and-outs of traveling with a toddler and our sweet rescue pup Oreo, while promoting local nonprofits and wellness along the way.