It’s back to school time in America. All around the world, a decent chance at an education is so important to a child’s future.
Shoutout to 7 small businesses choosing to make a difference in someone’s life!
1. Bright Stripes • Bloomfield, NJ
Bright Stripes makes “creative DIY and craft kits for kids of all stripes" like the S.T.E.A.M. School Painting Science kit in our cover photo. Sabre Mrkva and Eric von Stein donate 5% of profits to non-profit Art Feeds for art lessons, training and art materials to kids in Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Ghana and Haiti!
Sabre Mrkva & Eric von Stein, Bright Stripes
2. Left Bank Books • St. Louis, MO
Left Bank books opened in 1969 in the city’s historic Central West End neighborhood. Kris Kleindienst started working there in 1974 and is now the owner! She also created the Left Bank Books Foundation dedicated to “promoting literacy and the literary arts in the St. Louis area by providing books, author events, and related programming to primary and secondary school students, disadvantaged populations, and all St. Louisans“. Their River City Readers program has since distributed over 10,000 books to St. Louis Public School students!
Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books
3. VEERAH • New York City, NY
Stacey Chang founded her Public Benefit Corporation to make designer vegan shoes for eco-conscious women. At least 1% of revenue goes directly to social impact causes! Also, for every 100 customer feedback surveys they receive, VEERAH sponsors a one-year scholarship for a She’s the First girl scholar, which operates in 42 countries to “make sure girls everywhere are educated, respected, and heard“!
Stacey Chang, VEERAH
4. Creature Comforts Brewing Co. • Athens, GA
Creature Comforts is a purpose-driven, B-Corp certified craft brewery. Starting in 2021, co-founders David Stein, Chris Herron & Adam Beauchamp committed to working with Books For Keeps for the next 5 years to increase the percentage of local Clarke County 3rd-grade students reading at grade level from 20% to 60%!
David Stein, Chris Herron & Adam Beauchamp, Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
5. Kandila Company • Melbourne, Australia
Kandila Company makes 100% natural, GM-free, sustainable & biodegradable soy wax candles. Founder Janice Inducil is a first generation immigrant giving back to her birth country. 50% of her profits support the Australian Foundation for Fostering Learning in the Philippines which helps students in 15 poorly resourced elementary public schools in Talomo District, Davao City, Mindanao!
Janice Inducil, Kandila
6. Scoria • Toronto, Canada
Yara Kamal started Scoria in 2017 to make eco-conscious yoga mats from cork! She’s also a proud partner of Right To Play which helps children stay in school and graduate in some of the most difficult and dangerous places experiencing war and abuse. Right To Play currently works in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Indigenous communities in Canada.
Yara Kamal, Scoria
7. Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen • Troy, NY
Adults need school too sometimes. Korean-Americans Sun Hwa Choi & Chun Hee Kim started a restaurant and farm business, and found a way to use food to help their community. Their Sunhee’s Community Place non-profit provides English lessons and computer education for local refugee and immigrant adults!
Sun Hwa Choi & Chun Hee Kim, Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen
Looking for ways to support education? Shop these small businesses or find more like them on Karmalize! #SupportSmallBusinesses