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1%
Why do we donate and why the 1% program?
Through our travels and our own personal life experiences we’ve come to the
realization that the world is unjust. We happened to be born and raised in an
environment that gave us opportunities to better our lives. Most of us can
‘choose’ where we want to spend our disposable income; drinks with friends,
expensive restaurants, fancy cars, bigger house, fun hobbies, etc…..
Consumerism: Where does it stop? When is
it enough? Do I really ‘need’ this new gadget? Do I really ‘need’ a fancier car?
I often ask myself if I really ‘need’ something or just “want” it. There are
many more people in this world that don’t have that choice than do. They work
hard, they want their children to go to school, they want their family to have
access to basic health care, but their environment does not provide them these
basic services.
We
have the chance to give hope and opportunity to others. What would make me
happier? Purchasing the latest cell phone that I don’t really need as my current
one is just as capable or supporting a child so that they have access to
education to complete high school to better their conditions for the rest of
their life? It is an obvious answer, so why don’t we do it?
We have many reasons, but most often we tell ourselves ‘next time’ or
I’ll do it when I have the extra money. Next thing we know,”next time” never
comes to pass; meanwhile I have the new cell phone with all the features I’ll
hardly ever use and I regularly have drinks with friends.
Other times, we look to other people to
make the first move and then use it as an excuse when they don’t do anything.
Pure and Co. has decided to start with ourselves and lead the way. We are
going to make sharing our good fortunes an integral part of our lives and
philosophy. We have been donating for years, but we often find ourselves
donating what is left at the end of the day after the cell phone and drinks with
friends. Why don’t we share our good luck first and then become a consumer if we
have any extra money? This is how we came up with the 1% concept. We are going
to give 1% of everything we sell. It is reasonable, (fluctuation in the price of
petrol or currency movements affects our margins by more than 1%), it is
measurable and it is simple. We’ve decided to donate a percentage of gross
instead of donating a portion of the profit because we believe that profit is
more elusive (depreciation, expense reports, etc…), gross sales are more
tangible, real and measurable. We here believe in karma and it’s been said that
you reap what you sow: We are sowing the seeds and hoping others follow so that
real help can be given where it’s needed and at the same time maybe a little
good fortune will shine on us too!
When our customers buy our products, they will know exactly how much is donated
to create opportunities. Many of our employees have the same philosophy and
donate 1% of their salaries to good causes. Do the right thing; join the 1%
program. Maybe you’ll find out that after you lend a helping hand to someone,
there might even be enough left to buy that cell phone after all.
Sebastien Sirois / President and the Pure & Co team.
Who are we donating to?
We are helping organizations that we’ve visited
and where we were impressed with the management team and the effectiveness of
the program. When we visited the “Mirror Foundation” and “Cynthia’s Clinic”, we
were amazed by the dedication of the staff and the amount of goodness produced
with such a shoestring budget. It is amazing to see that ‘money spent on drinks
with friends’ can really change someone’s life. We donate directly to the
organizations, thus guaranteeing that 100% of the money reaches the people. We
have formed alliances with various U.S, U.K and Canadian based Non Profit
Organizations (NGOs) that issue tax receipts for donations to the projects. We
also encourage you to come and visit the programs and experience with your own
eyes the kindness of mankind. You will see volunteers and staff that unselfishly
give their time to provide opportunities for others who are less fortunate.
It
feels good to be kind, try it! It’s contagious!
We support following projects:
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Mae Tao Clinic
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The Mirror Foundation |
Mirror Foundation Documentary |
Micro-Credit Fund April 2008 Report
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Statement of Cyclone in Burma
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