Handing out workbooks
Imagine that every time you bought something, someone in need would get one too. This is the idea behind the “buy one –give one” business model Certified B Corp ecojot implemented in January of 2010. For every one of four different kinds of qualifying journals sold (there are some journals that aren’t part of the buy one-give one program), they donate a workbook to a child in need. EcoJot customers help put an essential learning tool in the hands of kids around the world. To date, EcoJot has sent over 130,000 workbooks to kids throughout Africa, The Caribbean, and Canada.
Mark Gavin, co-owner of ecojot has seen the effects of the “buy one –give one” model first hand. In October 2010 he traveled to Kenya to distribute workbooks, along with other donated supplies such as pencils, pens, erasers, and loose paper. After all, what good is a notebook if you can’t write in it? This September, Mark set out again, this time to Haiti. The ecoJot team distributed 22,000 notebooks and other supplies to 35 schools in the Port-Au-Prince area.
The ecojot team in Haiti
So why does ecojot hand deliver their workbooks?
“As someone who lives in North America, its really hard to understand that poverty is a huge problem around the world if you don’t actually see it for yourself,” Gavin says. “It’s important for me to immerse myself in the heat, dust and poverty of these countries. ecojot believes that education and literacy are the key to eradicating poverty. Kids become educated and contribute towards the improvement of their communities. Families and schools can simply not afford to provide basic school supplies. ecojot and our “buy one- give one” program shows that a business can be profitable AND change the world.”
Check out some ecojot videos of their trip!
