The Empowerment Store

If you've read the book or watched the PBS documentary Half the Sky, then you've heard of Somaly Mam.  Somaly is a survivor of human trafficking and has worked tirelessly to help others like her survive too.  The foundation which bears her name and which she co-founded has an aptly titled  Empowerment Store with beautiful items for sale made by survivors.  And like so many of the items I like to feature, a purchase from The Empowerment Store has layers of purpose.  This is not just financial support for these survivors, it is also a statement that you stand with them and they are not alone.  It is a stand against trafficking.  Wearing the jewelry or clothing is a good conversation starter about this cause.  And lastly you will have a beautiful gift for yourself or someone else. 

I ordered the medium silk empowerment necklace.  It is $25 and shipping and handling was $8.20.   There's not a whole lot of information on the necklace in the description, such as length or a photo of a person wearing the necklace, so I was a little surprised at how long the medium is.  I imagine since these aren't mass produced that each necklace is a little different but my medium necklace can comfortably be worn as a long single strand or doubled.  You cannot select a certain color.  Some people may not like that you cannot choose a color (perhaps you could request a certain color when ordering), but I LOVED the element of surprise when opening my package, not knowing what color I would get.  I received a lovely red necklace within a few days of placing my order.  Oh and one more really nice thing, I received via e-mail a tax receipt for the portion of the purchase that is tax deductible.

So who on your nice list is getting something from The Empowerment Store this year?