Our Youth Artisans
Kind Karma is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of marginalized youth by hiring them as jewelry artisans. Every youth is an employee of the company and receives wages as they would at any other job even though they often don't feel like this is "work"! Since Kind Karma does not receive public funding, all youth wages (and the proceeds youth receive) are completely funded through sales made by our amazing community of customers. While we hope our team will grow exponentially one day, we are proud to be able to support perhaps a smaller number of youths than you may imagine but in greater ways. Here are some of their stories:
Although Ray grew up in an extremely volatile household, which eventually forced them to leave home during their teenage years, Ray is dependable, calm and intelligent. Ray is always eager to learn new skills and practicing yoga is one of their favourite hobbies. Ray has many goals and we are so privileged to be able to support their journey to achieving them.
Rachael has had the most difficult past experiences to overcome but she is the embodiment of strength and resilience. Her determination is nothing short of inspirational and she is extremely understanding, mature and kind. Art-therapy employment seems to be designed for her and she is always eager to learn and develop her skills. We are so privileged to have her on our team and help her through find success through meaningful employment.
Originally from Iran, Farnaz came to Canada as a refugee and is adapting to life in her new home. She is such an inspiring individual for leaving everything behind to move across the world, alone, not even knowing the language. Farnaz is currently in school to improve her English and hopes to one day attend university to become an engineer! We are thrilled to be a part of her journey and are honored to support her in her new home.
Originally from Ethiopia, Eminet has had to adapt to the constant changes that her new life in Canada has brought but continues to navigate those challenges with a positive attitude and incredible work ethic. Having pursued an education in travel and tourism, Eminet switched gears to become a jewelry artisan because she loves nothing more than doing work that makes people happy (which her jewelry does!). She is happy to have picked up a new skill and is confident that this will be something she enjoys throughout her life journey.
Joy spent the majority of her life as a nomad, living in different cities around the world, but behind closed doors, it wasn’t as glamourous as it sounds. She eventually left all she knew for a fresh start in Canada and we are so glad to be a part of that new beginning. She will be continuing her education to become a PR specialist while working as a jewelry artisan and also has dreams of modeling (so look out for her pictures on our site as we help her build her portfolio!) and we are happy she has found a new family in the Kind Karma team.
WHO MADE YOUR JEWELLERY?
All of our necklaces come on custom jewellery cards that have been personally signed by the youth artisan that made the piece! It is their way of connecting with you and thanking you for the support that you have shown with your purchase. If you are purchasing a gift, we are also happy to include a company info card so that the recipient knows it's not just jewellery that they have received but an opportunity that they have helped create for someone in less fortunate circumstances.
INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH OUR YOUTH?
We always get asked by our generous community about ways they can volunteer their time and skills to help our youth artisans. Our Kind Karma Mentors program now allows us to take advantage of this generosity so we can provide even more resources to our youth employees.
While our youth artisans are working with us, we work with them to set and reach individual goals. These goals could be education, housing, career or self-care related. But we only know what we know and that has its limits. Sometimes youth have questions about topics that we can’t answer. That's where you come in!
We would love if you would donate a little time if any questions arise to share your knowledge and life lessons with youth who may want to know more about your areas of expertise. You can do it via phone, Skype or even coffee. It could be a one-time discussion or if you'd like to be more involved, you can chat regularly - it is entirely up to you and your availability.
If you’re interested in becoming a mentor, we just need to know a little bit about you. That way when our artisans have questions, we can connect them to someone who has the answers! Just answer some simple questions in the form below and we will be in touch if something comes up.