by Chad Werner
Since becoming a company, SOCO’s main purpose is serving people. From providing our customers with quality products to aiding communities with our non-profit partners, we hope to make the world a better place. When we get to be apart of non-profit’s stories, it makes all the work, and every sale, worth it.
In November 2014, SOCO Hammocks partnered with the non-profit Yobel International. Yobel’s main goal is, “To alleviate poverty and prevent slavery in the developing world through sustainable business training and opportunity.” They do this by facilitating training, mentorship, and development globally.
Sarah Ray, Yobel’s Executive Director, contacted us with this story after our partnership last November. She told us that Ernest, one of Yobel’s Rwandan partners, had, “helped [Yobel] to offer business training to 37 people living in a reconciliation village made up of both genocide perpetrators and their victims' families seeking to live side by side in harmony and forgiveness. These folks earn an average of $16 per month and support their children on that income.”
[Ernest]
Ernest was apart of training one of these villages of people looking to start their lives fresh, and create sustainable businesses that would bring prosperity to their homes. The Yobel team wanted to send Ernest back to Kimonyi Village to conduct a follow up trip in order that the new entrepreneurs would be encouraged, and coached in their endeavors. Ernest contacted Yobel with his budget. Resources were needed to get Ernest back to this village, and Yobel had to find a solution.
As part of SOCO’s business model 10% of all our total sales each month go directly to our non-profit partners. That’s sales, not profits, so for each purchase made by a customer a portion of that total sale goes to our non-profit partner that month.
After November 2014 Ernest contacted Yobel the budget it would take for him to travel to Kimonyi and make a follow up trip.
After November 2014, without knowing Ernest’s budget, the same exact amount had been gathered by SOCO from our sales. To the dollar.
If it weren’t for the customers who chose SOCO, and for wonderful organizations like Yobel International, Ernest wouldn’t be able to go garner the same relationships and leaders that he's raising up in Kimonyi village.
So, thank you Yobel International for putting people first.
And thank you, SOCO customers, for choosing us. It’s because of your purchases that we all can be apart of helping change lives.
Keep hanging loose,
SOCO Hammocks