It’s not every day you get to celebrate all of the amazing women in your life…although maybe it should be ;) Today is International Women’s Day and we are going to take this opportunity to celebrate the women we get to call co-workers, suppliers, and friends.

When you work in the social enterprise sector, you get to meet some really amazing people who lead with their hearts. Today we’d like to highlight some of our women-owned corporate gift suppliers. Through their businesses, these women are making a serious impact on people and the planet we inhabit.

Adisyn Pyles: Co-founder & CEO of Freeleaf

Adisyn never thought of herself as an entrepreneur. After graduating college, she actually applied to non-profits and social enterprises, only to be rejected due to lack of international experience. So, she traveled to Asia. She made friends. She saw real poverty. She met women who had been exploited for their bodies. And alongside a local friend, she dreamed of a solution to help these women. After countless conversations, Adisyn and JiaYi found that economic challenges were at the root of much of the abuse and exploitation she saw. They launched Freeleaf to provide sustainable employment, education, and a safe space for these women to heal.

A little known fact, the Freeleaf team helped advise us when we were just starting. They helped us narrow our focus from “we want to sell all the socially-enterprised things” to focusing on luxury corporate gift boxes that give back. Seriously – I don’t know where beCAUSE minded would be without their help.

Shelley Jean: Founder of Papillon Marketplace

Shelley’s story is one of compassion, grit, and a theme of saying “yes.” Over a decade ago Shelley visited Haiti with the intent to adopt a child from a local orphanage. During that visit, she learned that some, if not most, of the children in the orphanage had parents who loved them deeply. So, why were they here? The answer – poverty. Many parents with lower levels of education could not find work that would provide a sufficient income to house and feed their children, so they put their children in an orphanage where the parents felt they would be better cared for. Shelley’s heart was broken.

In less than a year, she moved her family to Haiti and began learning about the intricacies of orphanhood in the area. Lack of opportunities, government corruption, and ill-intentioned orphanage founders led to a heart-breaking and dangerous reality for many Haitian children. Shelley set out to solve this issue by creating a company that offers livable wages to Haitian parents who don’t have many viable employment options. The results are astounding. Papillon now employs over 200 artisans regularly, allowing them to provide for their children at home.

Jessie Babbitt: co-founder of B.A.R.E. Soaps

Jessie is an inspiration. As a purely passion project, Jessie founded B.A.R.E. Soaps to “bring antiseptic resources to everyone” and raise education and awareness on important sustainability issues. Can you believe that even as they have grown, Jessie still doesn’t take a salary? She’s committed to the dream of using this social enterprise to fund good around the world. To date, this passion project has produced over $40k in donations!

B.A.R.E. Soaps breaks the mold on their business model. They helped initiate a program to take discarded hotel soaps, shred them, sanitize them, and create new soaps to give to those in need. This program provided full-time work to three Indian women. One man’s trash is another woman’s employment! COVID shut down these operations. So in 2021, B.A.R.E. Soaps supported two female entrepreneurs pursuing sustainability-related efforts.

In addition to providing soap, handwashing workshops, and employment, B.A.R.E. Soaps has also provided 150 children with leather shoes, helped fund a library serving 150 children, and contributed toward a maize milling machine in a rural community in Uganda.

And, of course, we never want to miss an opportunity to celebrate the beautiful women that make up our beCAUSE minded internal team.

Jessica Shields: founder of beCAUSE minded

When first starting beCAUSE minded, Jessica’s motto was “let’s support all the causes.” As a foster parent, owner of a rescue dog, and certified disaster relief responder, she is passionate about many causes. She is also passionate about entrepreneurship.

In 2020, when her event-based business came to a screeching halt, she found herself with time and space to launch what is now beCAUSE minded. Jessica finds a unique fulfillment in combining the business experience she’s built up over the past decade and her passion for helping nonprofits and social enterprises reach a larger audience.

Noraliz Miranda: Logistics Manager at beCAUSE minded

Noraliz started working with Jessica at Jessica’s first company (the events-focused company mentioned above) in January of 2020. Then the world shut down. Jessica knew that Noraliz was (and is) passionate about many causes, with animal welfare, being at the top of the list. On a conference call with the events team, Jessica asked if anyone would be interested in helping her launch a marketplace of gifts that give back, and Noraliz’s “yes” was instant.

Noraliz manages everything supplier related. She owns this role with such dedication and passion, it’s clear her heart is in the mission, not the paycheck.

Jacquelyn Housley: Social Media Manager at beCAUSE minded

0 followers. That’s how many we had on any platform when Jacquelyn joined the team. In fact, we didn’t even have the handles. Thank goodness for Jacquelyn’s dedication which has helped more people see and hear about our empowering gifts. She is never satisfied until every graphic is perfect, every message responded to, and every tradeshow display is immaculate.

She is always an optimist and brings the most smiles to our team calls. Jacquelyn is passionate about using her vast social media and graphics skill sets for a cause that aligns with her own core values of supporting diversity and helping others.

We are so grateful for these women who make the dream of providing personal and corporate gift boxes that leave the world a better place.

What women in your life inspire you?