Sometimes a girl has got to make sacrifices for the greater good. For instance, going to a skate shop for non-profit networking. Our worries that the people at The Workshop Launch Party hosted by Active, a skate and surf shop, might be too young and too hip for us, seemed legitimate when the security guy scanned our IDs and called out “1970-something.” Good enough for him, and for the bright orange wrist bands labeling us of drinking age. But when he called us “spring chickens,” we knew we were crossing into 20-something territory. Jostling through a crowd of kids born in the 90s, we headed straight for the booze.
Behind the table stacked with red plastic party cups, a staple of college dorm drinking, a girl in a tight tank top was helping pump the beer keg. We opted for a clear plastic cup o’ 2 Buck Chuck, and made a bee-line back through the crowd to the actual workshop display.
We were women with a mission, to stalk meet Sean Carasso, the man behind Falling Whistles, one of the four non-profits displayed as part of the workshop. Falling Whistles partners with non-profits in eastern Congo, working to rehabilitate child soldiers. We’re anxious to pick Sean’s brain about the work he’s done, the how-tos of sending money to DRC, the mistakes and pitfalls to avoid.
The idea behind the workshop comes from the new owner of Active, Esmail (pronounced Ishmael) Mawjee, a soft-spoken man who took over the company after it filed for bankruptcy. Mawjee has a different take on running a business. According to the press release for the launch:
Active Ride Shop has a mission to change the US Retail Market by igniting positive change within The Workshop, a multidimensional in-store environment that invites shoppers to play a dynamic role in positively shaping the lives of individuals in local communities and developing communities around the world.
While the broader initiative, Work & Progress exists to advance the cause-related visions of both Active’s partners and communities, The Workshop will actually be a physical installation space created to engage, educate, equip and empower consumer experience.
Active Ride Shop President Esmail Mawjee commented: “The Workshop is a multidimensional environment within a larger Active retail setting that we hope will deeply enrich every shopper’s experience. Our vision is to provide a clear pathway for positive impact through a collective action on a local and global scale and we hope this will create a culture that other retailers will catch on to and will elevate emerging non-profits and their missions’. “
Active’s first Workshop will be produced in the heart of Santa Monica at the Active store on 4th street and Broadway and will feature installations by:
Mission accomplished! We spoke briefly to Sean, who was passionate and excited to share his stories of working alongside the Congolese. He was swamped with “whistle blowers” asking him questions, but we agreed to set a time soon for a lunch.
After a brief video about the workshop, reps from each of the four non-profits spoke. Sean was inspiring, as one who witnessed and was present in the Congo to hear the stories of the boys kidnapped and tortured. Stating that it was not charity but solidarity, he urged us all to use the most important of all our freedoms, free speech, to tell the story of almost 6 million dead, 1500 dying per day in this conflict that no one knows about. We put down our cups of wine and let go our defenses when Esmail Mawjee spoke of his vision, and asked us all to join hands. Grasping Cate’s hand and the girl’s beside me, everyone raised their clasped hands in victory when Mawjee announced “We are one!” Pretty inspiring stuff for a skate shop.
Posted by Rebecca
(Photo courtesy Falling Whistles)
2 Responses to “Hangin’ with the Skaters: The Workshop Launch Party at Active”