By Karen Madlock | Senior Save Up Program Coordinator
How many times have you wished you could get some additional mileage out of a broken piece of jewelry? You are desperately holding on to that favorite item wishing for a rebirth. Allison C felt the same way and with help from RISE, she is using her new financial literacy skills to turn a jewelry recycling hobby into an upcycled jewelry business.
While working as a front desk receptionist at a local beauty salon, Allison invests her free time into perfecting her jewelry art. She learned about RISE through a friend and joined the Save Up program in September of 2017. Allison hoped that the Save Up program would provide her an opportunity to transition her hobby of custom jewelry making into an innovative micro-enterprise.
$25 a month will supply one Save Up participant with textbooks and supporting materials that will improve their financial literacy and empowers them to make wiser financial choices. Each monthly contribution supports Save Up match dollars and means that the reality of an asset goal is attainable for participants just like Allison.
“The progression from the Save Up personal finance workshops to the micro-enterprise workshops was extremely important and helpful, Allison stated. It was necessary for me to go through both workshops because I knew that I couldn’t run a business if I couldn’t handle my household finances.” Customization sets this business apart from all others. Initial client consultations ensure that each piece is uniquely personal. She can also incorporate materials that have special meaning to the client to further personalize the jewelry. Allison would like her future business to have both an online presence and a brick and mortar location from which to market and sell her custom creations.
Allison is still making deposits into her Save Up account monthly and expects to reach her savings goal and use her RISE funds to start her business in 2019. Allison says that her participation in the Save Up program has been inspirational and has served as a great tool for self-discovery. RISE helped her to realize that her degree in communications has uniquely prepared her to integrate storytelling into her jewelry design presentations. She credits her desire to continue acquiring more knowledge to strengthen her business foundation solely to RISE!
Allison’s innovative green approach to recycled jewelry is a great way to reduce and reuse materials that could contribute to waste. Her born again products are easy on your budget and on the environment. Thank you for considering an investment of $25 a month to RISE today. Your contributions influence innovative microenterprise for nearly 60-80 RISE participants annually and will provide job creation, economic assets and community reinvestment for low income working families. Thank you for providing RISE participants a hand up and never a hand out!
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