Our upcoming Fourth Estate Leadership Summit is doing more than bringing together 1,400 young activists and educators for a four-day extravaganza of speakers, breakout sessions, and epic dance parties. It’s also getting top brands from around the world to be at the special Common Good Exchange where you can get to know the people behind organizations who are making a living and a difference at the same time.
One such organization is The Giving Keys.
It was started by actress and singer/songwriter Caitlin Crosby after she put a cool New York hotel key on a chain around her neck and got tons of compliments. She started engraving old, used keys with inspirational words (think: love, strength) and would sell out of them every night at the merch table during her music tour. She was beginning to realize that in a way we are all like keys: unique, flawed, scarred, and at risk of being discarded. What if these keys could be a vehicle of hope and inspiration?
Wanting to add a charitable dimension to the business model, it wasn’t long before the road ahead became clear. She told Huffington Post that after attending a showing of Invisible Children’s first documentary, Rough Cut, she exited onto Hollywood Blvd with her face “red and puffy from crying. But at the same time, I was on fire. I wanted to change the world, wanted to help. Right there, right then. I was bursting with passion for humanity. Every person I passed… had a story I wanted to know.” And that’s when she saw them – a couple who were living on the streets, sitting under an umbrella with a sign that said ‘Ugly, Broke & Hungry.’
She began hiring homeless people to help her engrave the keys and she now has 10 employees that are transitioning out of homelessness because of their employment. The Giving Keys are now being sold at Fred Segal as well as 200+ other stores around the country. True. Story.
“I think its fascinating that pounding out positive words, over and over for hours can improve a persons well-being, hope and motivation. And when you know that each unique key is being paid forward and passed around the world to people who need a little inspiration… well, that makes all of us feel so grateful; makes us understand that we are part of a love movement.” – Caitlin Crosby
Be part of that movement, and get to know The Giving Keys at the Common Good Exchange at our Fourth Estate Leadership Summit by applying HERE. The deadline to apply is May 15th.
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