*** I’m going away on holiday this week, I’ve got the dog sitters in and I’m handing over my blog content for one week to support Mums in Business, otherwise know as the Mumpreneur. You should know straight off the bat that I hate that term, I truly do, but apparently it’s very google-able so as I cringe and type, I still type. What I do love is seeing women in business and the ladies that have kindly written about themselves and their blogs over the next 5 days are all small business owners, mamas and down right awesome gals. I will be back on Monday, but as is the way of the social media addict, I can be found on Instagram 24/7 (no really, I will be on there if Edith wakes up in the night…), facebook and occasionally twitter… but as a rambler – something I am aware I’m doing now – I hate being limited to 140 characters. Bleurgh.
See you on the other side!***
Hi! I’m Ellie, I’m a mama of two. I work part-time and my youngest is with me 24/7. Oh! And I’m selling bags for charity.
Whilst Trump was campaigning and Brexit had left us with racism smeared across our pavements and shooting through people’s letter boxes I was busy feeling helpless whilst rushing two children out of the door to nursery, cleaning up milk/pee/Duplo/etc etc. I felt so frustrated at everything that was happening but I didn’t have the time or energy to get on and DO SOMETHING about it. How was I meant to get to a rally or spend time volunteering when the eldest had pissed all over the floor again whilst the little one was screaming for his lunch? Am I the only one?
My solution, as all the best mama solutions seem to be, was dreamed up during the 3am my-kids-have-fallen-back-asleep-yet-I’m-now-wide-awake insomnia. I came up with a design based on the notion of the safety pin which I had read about. In case you’re unfamiliar; wearing a safety pin shows your support for minority groups. It means “you’re safe with me”. It originated in the post-Brexit rise in racism but has now been used to show support for groups such as the LGBTQ+ community and women.
The design turned into a tote bag (because who doesn’t need more totes in their lives?!) so you can cart around your messages (groceries for those south of the border), kid’s toys, even nappies (get it?!) whilst spreading an important message that’s good enough of old Jean-Luc Picard: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/patrick-stewart-safety-pin-donald-trump_us_58261897e4b02d21bbc88b75
All proceeds go to the Scottish Refugee Council which is based in my fabulous city of Glasgow. To see the work that they do have a neb here: https://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk
What I hadn’t expected was how much my girl would be in to the whole caboodle. She was so excited when the big box of bags arrived, has seen me selling them and understands that in some way they will help other people. Now, I pride myself on instilling a sense of charity in my kids but I hadn’t realised how much this would help to show them (read: her – my son couldn’t give a monkey’s fart, all he’s interested in is boobs, bananas and buses) that there is always some small way you can be an active citizen. Whether it’s volunteering, writing to your MP or… uh… buying a bag from a mama whose child is currently attempting to draw on the window sill; we can show our children that being conscientious and involved is the best way to be and perhaps the best way to fight back against those nasty feelings of despair at humanity.
Safety Pin Tote Bags are fair trade, from a sustainable source and only £5 (+£1p&p). Go grab one (or several) here: https://etsy.com/shop/caritasbags
