New York City - Tonic, the leading media and e-commerce site focused on effortless activism and social good, has announced their new partnership with Citta for a project that will benefit women in both India and Nepal. Beginning today, visitors to www.tonic.com can purchase a unique 100 percent pashmina scarf, designed by
Lucy Barnes and hand-knit by the women of the Citta Himalaya Women's Center with proceeds funding the new, Jaisalmer Women's Center in Rajasthan, India. The scarf, which retails for $100 will help 100 women in need in India. Tonic partnered with Citta, an organization that supports remote and impoverished regions of the world, and asked several creative minds who transform the way we see the world through the words they choose, to select a word that holds importance or meaning in their lives. The Himalayan women hand-embroidered the select words to each scarf in Sanskrit, providing them with training for valuable skills they can use in the future and a salary that allows them to feel independence and contribute to their families.
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Sanskrit Gray scarf. |
Participants include
Queen Latifah, whose chosen word is "strength,"
Sting, whose chosen word is "resolve,"
Scarlett Johansson, whose chosen word is "reuse,"
David Bowie, whose chosen word is "funk",
Susan Sarandon, whose chosen word is "awake,"
Natalie Merchant, whose chosen word is "silent,"
David Byrne, whose chosen word is "dust", and
Thandie Newton, who selected "surrender."
The hand-embroidered scarves are made of 100 percent two-ply pashmina and retail for $100 each, and are available in gray and camel sold exclusively on www.tonic.com. The fine cashmere wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat, a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas.
"Words can be positive, powerful tools. They can mobilize a nation to independence or relay confidence to an army winning a battle against all odds. Words can transmit love from one being to another, or convey the mysteries of life from a teacher to a student," said
Michael Daube, Founder of Citta. "I am excited to partner with Tonic on this important collaboration which uses powerful words to provide skills and economic development for the women of the Thar Desert."
"To have this unique opportunity to partner with an organization as great as Citta and help women in need in both Nepal and India is something that Tonic is very proud to be a part of" said
Pankaj Shah, Founder and CEO of Tonic. "With the help of these words that carry such significance, we hope to leave a lasting impression with the public which will, in turn, result in a massive joint effort to help those in need."
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The scarf, which retails for $100 will help 100 women in need in India. |
Ten percent of every sale will fund the new Citta Jaisalmer Women's Center in Rajasthan, India where women will have access to classes on health, hygiene and nutrition for not only themselves but for their families as well. Another 10 percent will go to The Tonic Foundation, the charitable arm of Tonic that supports causes that Tonic members and customers identify by taking action on www.tonic.com.
About Tonic
Tonic is the leading media, ecommerce, and community site focused on effortless activism and social good, making it easy for people to do good things every day. Tonic.com features the latest news and content focused on effortless activism and social good and "positively good" human interest stories about people doing great things while offering valuable information on results-driven causes that make an impact. Additionally, Tonic sells high quality products and services that have an added benefit of making something good happen in the world. Founded by entrepreneur Pankaj Shah, Tonic is supported by a diverse and impressive Board of Creators including Island Records founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
Chris Blackwell, son of legendary investor and businessman
Warren Buffett and musician
Peter Buffett, fashion designer and philanthropist
Donna Karan, music industry executive
Phil Quartararo, Efficient Frontier Chairwoman
Ellen Siminoff and
Whitney Williams, Founder and President of Williamsworks.
About Citta
Citta, whose name is derived from the Sanskrit word for 'compassionate mind', is an organization that is aware that people of different paths share the same world. Citta is a registered charity dedicated to providing assistance to marginalized or indigenous communities and assisting those in extreme economic, environmental, or political distress. By helping these communities, we seek to build and sustain institutions essential for their survival. Their goal is to help create infrastructures that will be maintained by the communities themselves, and to help create a more fully realized global unity in which everyone has a chance to participate, while preserving ways of life for the future.
Guest (George M. Carter) from Brooklyn, NY says:
I've known Michael for 10 years. He is an inspiration and shows the importance of each of us following our own path and heart. Just do it! Citta has many, many good people working together. What makes them different from similar organizations is the remarkable amount they accomplish with relatively tiny budgets. In addition, the work is very collaborative, not merely prescriptive. They don't tell locals what the donors want to do--they work WITH them by asking people what they want and need. Citta is the women, the educators, the humans in need. Listening is critical! More agencies need to emulate their model. And each of us need every day to find our own sense of compassion and justice. Indeed, the needs are great. The WHO recently noted, for example, that HIV is the leading cause of death worldwide among women 15-44. Education, gender parity, justice, access to good health care, environmental husbandry--these are inextricably bound in our shared experience and the ultimate fate of our species. A fate that places on the crossroads, where one path is extinction. There are other paths. In my view, supporting Citta represents one way to be a part of the fabric of our shared experience for growth and change, evolving into our full potential as a species.