As a Fair Trade Partner, you work your Threads business where you can, when you can. Keely Sullivan is the perfect example.
Keely was a classroom teacher for nearly a decade. Though she loved her students, the days were long and she found herself energetically and emotionally exhausted. When she got pregnant with her daughter, she knew something needed to change.
Two of her friends were Threads Fair Trade Partners, and Keely gradually became more and more involved: first she attended a Threads Artisan Showcase, then she hosted one as an Ambassador. As she spent time around Threads Fair Trade Partners, she found herself more and more moved by the mission.
Although it was not the ideal time, or even the “right” time, Keely said yes to joining our tribe and launched her business as a Fair Trade Partner when her daughter was 8 months old.
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Keely went into teaching to change the lives of children, and now she can change the lives of children all over the world.
Keely went into teaching to change the lives of children, and now she can change the lives of children all over the world.
Keely has found a balance of teaching 3 days a week as an interventionist so she can spend the other 4 working her Threads business and spending time with her family. She loves the variety, and finds that the work she does with Threads is fulfilling on a different level.
Though she’ll never meet most of the women whose lives she is changing, Keely can see a tangible exchange before her very eyes: through a piece of handcrafted jewelry, one woman supports the business of another woman halfway around the world. Both women have held the same piece of jewelry in their hands. And now, thanks to our global connection, both women have a voice so their story can be heard.
Keely compares her role in this exchange to that of a worker ant. By selling Threads’ handcrafted jewelry, she opens up a marketplace for our Artisan Partners they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. With the income they earn, the artisans can provide their families and communities with things like clean drinking water, higher quality nutrition, and education. She says that the artisans are doing the hard work, but the process would not be possible without her link in the chain.
As soon as Keely became a mother, she felt a difference in the way she sees the world. “Once I became a mom, it changed things,” she explains. “I can’t imagine not being able to give my child what they need.”
This is part of the reason Keely joined the Threads tribe, and is certainly her motivation for continuing her work. Though she’s been a Fair Trade Partner for just over a year, she already has her very own team that she coaches and leads. In fact, she just won our Rockstar Rookie award at our annual conference!
“It’s about so much more than jewelry,” says Keely. “It’s about helping spread abundance for everyone.”
As soon as Keely became a mother, she felt a difference in the way she sees the world. “Once I became a mom, it changed things,” she explains. “I can’t imagine not being able to give my child what they need.”
This is part of the reason Keely joined the Threads tribe, and is certainly her motivation for continuing her work. Though she’s been a Fair Trade Partner for just over a year, she already has her very own team that she coaches and leads. In fact, she just won our Rockstar Rookie award at our annual conference!
“It’s about so much more than jewelry,” says Keely. “It’s about helping spread abundance for everyone.”
