- How did you guys get started? Tell us a little about Olivela’s mission and the #TheOlivelaEffect?
Olivela was founded in June 2017 by social entrepreneur Stacey Boyd. It’s an innovative philanthropic shopping site with a mission to provide transformational funding to improve the lives of children around the world, allowing consumers to support by purchasing what they love. With each item sold, a portion of the proceeds go directly to a select group of charitable partners, including CARE Jordan, GOOD+ Foundation, Malala Fund, VH1 Save the Music Foundation, and Too Young To Wed.
Boyd was inspired to launch Olivela while at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya with Malala Yousafzai. She ideated the concept as it had the ability to scale quickly and provide transformational funding for children year around. To date, Olivela shoppers have provided over 12,000 days of school to at-risk children around the globe.
A personalized customer dashboard called “The Olivela Effect” will track the impact their total purchases have in supporting charitable organizations. Purchases from the site will arrive in Olivela-branded packaging.
- Why was it so important for you guys to give back to these causes in particular?
Olivela was founded with a mission to improve the lives of children around the world and our charitable partners are also founded upon this. This manifests differently via each cause — through days of school via Malala Fund, health essentials through GOOD+ Foundation, hygiene kits through Too Young To Wed, or days of music education for students in the US through VH1 Save The Music.
- From a retailer perspective tell us why and how you want to work with influencers to promote and support Olivela’s cause.
The Olivela customer is interested in fashion, but just as interested in making socially conscious choices. She looks to key influencers for the newest avenues to accomplish both. We’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most forward-thinking influencers in the industry, introducing Olivela to their fashionable, conscious audiences.
- Would love to hear what is next on the roadmap for Olivela. Any exciting sneak peeks or previews into future plans?
Yes, Olivela just launched the ‘Creating Choices’ partnership with global non-profit humanitarian organization CARE. This connects refugee girls at risk of becoming adolescent brides with prominent influencers, including Hollywood makeup artist, Pati Dubroff, style bloggers Sai De Silva, fashion illustrator Meagan Morrison and more. Olivela is donating 20% of proceeds from every purchase to the program, kickstarted the entire initiative by funding each boutique with its beneficiary’s first 25 days of school, and has pledged to fund 30 of the most imminently at-risk girls.
Thanks,
Karla from Olivela, VP of Growth
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