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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