Saturday, September 26, 2015

Sharing Saturday - Pura Vida + Unlock Hope

If you know me (or you follow me on social media and have seen pictures of my wrists), then you know I LOVE me an arm party. As I type this, I have 10 bracelets [plus 2 hair ties] on my wrists. One is my Garmin vívofit® 2 (activity tracker), three are from Bali (Ryan got them for me when he was there for work) and the other 6 are a current variety of Pura Vida bracelets.


In case you are unfamiliar with Pura Vida, let me give you a little background information on the company (paraphrased by yours truly of course).

Source

Two SoCal buddies went to Costa Rica for a few weeks after graduation. While they were there, they met two guys selling some pretty awesome (yet simple) bracelets. They asked the bracelet makers if they would be able to make them 400 to bring back to the States. The guys were stoked on their big sale, so said of course (never realizing it would turn into a full-fledged partnership). The SoCal friends put the bracelets in a bowl at a local boutique and were astonished at how quickly they sold out. The two bracelet makers went from selling a couple a week to now over 25,000 a week (with the help of about 85 other friends now staffed in the Costa Rican store).
**Feel free to read the FULL story (in their words) here if you are interested.**



And just in case bracelets on their own aren't cool enough, Pura Vida teams up with charities for their Charity Line and gives a portion of the proceeds back to the group (and the organization can even pick the colors of the bracelets!). In 2013 alone, they worked with 190+ charities and were able to donate $140,000 to the causes and it has only grown since then.

One such charity (and one that I LOVE to support) is Unlock HopeUnlock Hope's mission is to give girls in Uganda a chance at education. Often times, without education, the girls will marry young, have large families they are unable to care for, and are forced to work jobs for very little pay. Unlock Hope partners with Thunk Humanity, an organization that runs a hostel in Hoima, Uganda for young refugee girls from all across Africa, many of whom are orphaned. Every purchase at Unlock Hope gives these girls​ quality healthcare, healthy food to eat and a safe place to live, ​enabling and supporting ​them in their pursuit of an education.

With that said, I gobbled up as many of the Unlock Hope Pura Vida Bracelets that I could when I saw them on the Unlock Hope shopping site. (You can still see the posting for them on Pura Vida's site here, but they are currently showing as OUT OF STOCK.)

**Note: The bracelets are the colors of the Ugandan flag.**

Since it's SHARING SATURDAY, I thought I'd offer a couple of them up for YOU! Entering is easy peasy, just use the Rafflecopter widget below. Some entries can be done daily, so make sure to enter early and enter often!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway runs through Friday, October 2nd at 11:59pm PST. Five winners will be selected and notified using the email address listed with their Rafflecopter account. Entries ARE verified, so please make sure to complete the task or a new winner will need to be selected. U.S. residents only. **PS This giveaway is not sponsored or affiliated with either Unlock Hope or Pura Vida, I am simply sharing some of the extra bracelets I have purchased to support a cause I believe in.**

31 comments:

blew415 said...

I like JDf foundation- diabetes

Knoxie13 said...

I've wanted to get some PV bracelets for awhile now! I'm going to go check out their website!

Knoxie13 said...

I support any charity that supports animals, and like the Best Friends Animal Society and NKLA, which are trying to make Los Angeles and no-kill city!

Corrina said...

Kinda hard to choose just one! I love A21 (sex trafficking rescue) and Give Clean Water and Charity Water.

Duchess said...

Girls on the Run is a big one for me....

AER-Runs said...

One of my favorites is Charity Water... such a worthwhile cause that people in the States can often forget about!

Elizabeth Lopez said...

My favorite charity is CASANA / childhood apraxia of speech association of North America. My daughter has apraxia of speech and this organization is paving the way for other kids just like her to get access to speech therapy and other items to assist them in finding their voices.

Unknown said...

It's hard to choose a favorite, but probably Alzheimers research. I have the Pura Vida bracelet for that charity!

Anonymous said...

My favorite local small charity is our CHAPTS group a 502 c 3 that supports our high school. For a big organization I like salvation army.

Zenaida Arroyo said...

Anything that gives money for breast cancer.

ahotsouthernmess said...

Ronald McDOnald House!

Kara said...

I love to support as many charities as I can. Right now Team Joseph is close to my heart, it raises money & awareness for Duchenne.

Luisa said...

My favorite Charity is World Vision. I've been sponsoring a child for 9 years and I love seeing how much he has grown.

Kristin said...

My favorite charity is the American Heart Association. My dad died of a heart attack almost 12 years ago.

Unknown said...

My favorite charity is a local one, Our Clubhouse who support those touched by cancer.

Unknown said...

My favorite charity is Team Muscle Makers for UCMD😃

Chasity said...

St Jude's is my fav

party_uv_5 said...

I wear my Officer Down Memorial Page bracelet every day. I support the Thin Blue Line & those officers who we have lost in the line of duty.

Ana said...

March of Dimes, lost my nephew shortly after he was born, and would hate for that to happen to anybody else.

Ashley S said...

The Navy SEAL Foundation, and TeamRWB

Unknown said...

My favorite is The Humane Society.

Unknown said...

I have a lot of favorite charities but my favorite are ACS and JFSA (a local Jewish organization that helps Jewish families get back on their feet and provide services to find them jobs and places to spend the Sabbath).

Tami said...

The wounded warrior project

Unknown said...

We sell Pura Vida where I work! This is awesome! I love the wounded warrior project. Having multiple friends in the military makes this important to me.

Jada S said...

World Vision

Unknown said...

I have a soft spot for Ronald Mc Donald House. <3

laroyal said...

I like the A21 campaign.

Jordan said...

I support all charities that donate to cancer prevention and treatment research after losing my father to lung cancer in 2010.

Unknown said...

The ALS Association!

Unknown said...

My fave charity is any local ASPCA organization - puppies all the way!

Shannon said...

There are so many great charities! My favorites are ASPCA and 26.2 with Donna.