Blog

My favorite season is fall. The scarves, snuggling by a fire, and the warmth of your coffee.

Okay, okay. I’ll admit it. In San Diego, it still feels sunny and 75…but regardless, it is a time when the earth sheds the old to make space for the new. To leave room for beauty to bloom. God has been teaching me a lot lately about how He redeems, He restores and how He makes all things new. In fall, a tree may have lost all of its leaves, but the integrity of trunk and its branches remain. It is that foundation and support that becomes crucial to give new leaves a home.

I’m reminded how YOUME Clothing emulates the life of a tree, a strong foundation with a recurring cycle of the old becoming new, rags into resources. I have not been able to attend a clothing exchange in country yet, but I hope to soon! I have been able to be a part of the process here, coming alongside the other volunteers for a “Sewing Night” held in our homes. We cut out the patches into different shapes: triangles, hearts, circles and sewed them onto apparel. And I have also had the opportunity to join the team as a volunteer intern, sell products and tell our story at local events!

At YOUME, our core values are: quality, renewal, empowerment, transparency, and love. Quality means that our priority is to make excellent products. They are ethically sourced and sold at a fair price. Renewal is at the center of what we do with our Rags to Resources model, both with the products we sell and the relationships we build with our partners. Third is the empowerment of the local communities and focus on creating a cycle of good rather than one-way charity. Next is transparency, to measure the impact we have and give our partners a chance to comment on our work and suggest improvements. Finally, we believe in love because as the founder of YOUME Lauren Wallis puts it, “Love is putting you before me.” And it’s the catalyst for all we do.

For men, simply losing weight and exercising shall help. generic cialis in usa On the other hand purchase generic levitra , must be taken only when there is a planned sexual intercourse at least 30 minutes before the steamy action Price.Since these have been developed for years and years of research and testing by the world’s top pharmaceutical companies, one would safely assume that both drugs are practically the same, the most common being headache, flushing, and diarrhea. This is the reason why cialis soft orderis known as the cheapest solution For Erectile Dysfunction. Being an anti-androgen, it attacks order levitra online unica-web.com one of the major causes for obesity and overweight. We currently work in four countries in Africa where there have been over 650 brand new school uniforms exchanged, 3 water projects (1,370 people now have access to clean water), 40 bags of maize delivered for families in drought, 11,000 student meals provided, 60 school books and supplies purchased, and we funded the launch of a job training program for highs school girls! These are facts and figures we have collected over our 5-year existence as a 501(C)(3). We will also be beginning a partnership with a nonprofit in Haiti this coming January. As Lauren puts it, “It’s a beautiful story of YOU & ME working together, turning rags into resources!

But who am I you may ask, and why is it that I talk about YOUME 24/7?! I am a student at the University of San Diego in my fifth and FINAL (YAY) year. I am majoring in Education and minoring in Nonprofit Social Enterprise and Philanthropy, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, and Credentialed in Nonprofit Management Professional. Yeah, that’s a lot. I am thankful for all of it though because it has led me to YOUME where I am able to take skills I have learned and a passion for social justice and apply them here.

I first started getting pumped about slow fashion, basically ethical fashion, about a year or so ago. I was attending Flood Church’s Christmas Collective for their concert. Before the concert, they were hosting a nonprofit fair with over 30 booths in attendance and YOUME was one of them. I walked up and saw Lauren working on her sewing machine, sewing patches on the shirts for sale. Then I found out that one of the volunteers was a friend I have known since high school! It just felt like family from the start. Their model and empowerment model caught me. I believe YOUME Clothing is an amazing pathway for the everyday human to pursue fashion molded toward creating good in our world. I am thankful that the YOUME team believes in me and has given me the chance to intern and launch our first ever Brand Ambassador program (coming soon). It has been an awesome way to engage my current community and empower those my age!

If anything that you read speaks to you or you’re passionate about sharing our story, please reach out to me!

Instagram: @sarahdee512
Email: sarahdifede@sandiego.edu

I recently started getting back into the swing of working out consistently and as with any new practice being implemented back into life, there is always a series of stages that your body can experience. And this got me thinking of how other areas or “muscles” of my life face similar stages of ups and downs.

Now, you probably just got done reading that first paragraph and are wondering if you accidentally signed up for an update from Runners World…you haven’t, I promise! I am getting to the part where YOUME comes in.

I have been volunteering with YOUME for about two years now, doing anything and everything to help carry on the mission. I’m mostly behind the scenes because I am an introvert and I love that kind of stuff. At times it has been admin work, coordinating volunteers, the occasional amateur building of props for events and just showing up ready to work hard.

In my experience, YOUME has been equivalent to a good workout. Of course, I’m still using my physical muscles to lift heavy boxes of merchandise and I occasionally struggle to put up the pop-up tent — but even more than that I am using my “giving” muscles. I have been developing these muscles as a volunteer for quite some time now, through the different ups and downs.

No one really likes to talk about the hard stuff. It is a nonprofit after all, focused on improving people’s lives, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t downs. Like when you wear pants to a hot summer outdoor event when you probably should’ve worn shorts or when people don’t buy any product or the occasional miscommunication and missed expectations for an event.

And then there are the “ups”, the really good stuff that keeps me coming back for more – it is like that runner’s high after a good, long run.
Precautions: Avoid large or fatty meals close to when you intend to take this medicine. 6. discount levitra no rx But in some instances it’s impossible to overcome cialis no prescription purchasing this the core symptoms due to advanced age or other restrictions. One of the best ways though cialis prices http://djpaulkom.tv/photos-fans-capture-pics-dj-paul-da-mafia-6ix-and-insane-clown-posse-on-the-shockfest-tour/ is to use Kamagra oral jelly. Previously you had to order cheap viagra http://djpaulkom.tv/dj-paul-lay-down-today/ know in advance the general understanding of the reproduction right.
As a full-time volunteer, I experience that high when I get to share the vision of YOUME with a new person (actually typing this up gives me chills). Or when you see your good friend and co-founder, Lauren Wallis, living out her purpose – that is actually the coolest thing ever. These moments and the variety of activities I’ve participated in within the organization have become different muscles I get to use and strengthen.

My favorite “up” has to be when the story comes full circle because a shirt I helped sell here in America helps a child to go to school in another country because they received a new uniform. Our mission has become even more tangible to me since we’ve partnered with the IRC in San Diego to train and hire refugee women in our own community to sew the patches onto our shirts. The heart and mission of this organization have grown to become such a part of me.

YOUME is my giving muscle and this is why I volunteer.

About Kelsey Dyer:
Kelsey is a social introvert and lover of personality quizzes, puns, and breakfast foods (specifically eggs). When she is not in the office solving web development problems, you can find her at a local coffee shop reading a book or sitting by the cliffs watching the sunset.