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Instead of changing the channel, two sisters decided to change the world
Short on cash, a woman in a Walgreens TV ad faces an agonizing choice: paying for food or her prescription drugs. For most, the scene is just another ad, but Katie O’Rourke, 12, was moved to tears by the woman’s suffering. Instead of changing the channel, she and her sister, Emma, 10, decided they would change the world.
Sitting in the living room of their Newburyport home, Katie and Emma turned to their mom, Sue Tabb, for advice on what they could do to help people struggling to put food on the table. They could have done what many families do – donate canned goods or write a check – but they had more ambitious ideas.
“Mom said we could do something instead of nothing,” says Katie. So, they brainstormed and decided to design clothing, sell it on the Internet and donate some of the profits to organizations helping feed the hungry. Within days, the girls and their mom, along with dad, Tom O’Rourke, had put their heads and talents together to launch their new business.
As a family, they came up with a business plan, including a name reflecting the project’s emphasis on basic necessities – bread + butter - and a logo. As a way to document and share their experience, they also decided to write a family blog about the project for the first 365 days. They located a printer to put their project name and logo on clothing, designed a Web site, and, in September, the girls officially registered their business at Newburyport City Hall.
Through donating half their profits from online sales of their sweatshirts, tees, totes and other products to food banks, bread + butter has already had a significant impact. Currently, the project partners with food banks in all six New England states. The family hopes to expand nationally in 2010 and, at some point, even internationally.
Once word got out, the project quickly garnered plenty of media attention and community support. “When we registered our business, a guy who works at the soup kitchen was there,” says Emma. “And he told us how much he loved what we were doing.” Supporters have not only rallied to their cause but offered their time and expertise. A local graphic designer has donated her time to help with clothing design and others have given legal advice.
The project also provides a rare opportunity for family togetherness. In the midst of competing demands from school, jobs, after-school activities, and other responsibilities, the O’Rourke/Tabb clan actually carves out time to work collaboratively toward a common goal.
“In our individual lives, we’re busy with our own things, but this is something we all think is important and can do together,” says Tom.
Family members bring different, complementary strengths to the project. “We’re all sort of equal,” says Katie. Sue promotes bread + butter by drawing on her experience working in public relations, while Tom applies his business knowledge to negotiations with non-profit groups and other organizations. Katie is an enthusiastic and prolific blogger and Emma runs the weekly family meetings. The only downside: “we’re not always sleeping a whole lot,” acknowledges Sue.
Most importantly, the girls and their parents have learned that hunger strikes everywhere, even close to home in Newburyport. But, they’ve also realized just one family can make a real difference. “It’s sad, but a lot of people even locally need food. I actually was a little surprised. But, even if you just do a little bit, it will end up helping a lot,” says Katie.
The girls’ sense of social responsibility and eagerness to help those in need may not seem typical of tweeners and middle-schoolers, but Sue sees a shift in the attitudes among her kids and their friends, “This generation is so much more focused on charity and global issues than we were when we were kids. I think it’s more prevalent in their curriculum at school and in their homes.”
The idea of giving back and community service is certainly nothing new for Katie and Emma. At Katie’s school, she and her classmates regularly volunteer at a local soup kitchen, and the experience is what first made her aware of hunger. Emma went on a class field trip to a Heifer International farm and was so impressed by what she saw she and her friends created their own fundraiser. “We organized a sale and made jewelry and headbands and stuff and all the money went to the Heifer farm,” says Emma.
Sue downplays the idea that her family is any different from other families. “I don’t think we’re an extraordinary family. I just think it’s a matter of deciding to do it. You have to jump in and hope a net appears,” she says. For families who want to teach their kids about giving but aren’t up for a major project, suggests talking to them about what they’re already doing for charity and giving kids an opportunity to get involved.
In the future, the family hopes the project will grow, but, “no matter how the project turns out,” says Sue, “it can’t be a failure because we end up learning about running a business and global issues.” And, the surest sign of success: thanks to bread + butter, many New England residents no longer have to make difficult choices; they know there will be enough food for everyone.
Karin Conrad is a freelance writer living in Waltham.
Hunger is a Big Issue
According to a Census Bureau survey, those at greatest risk of being hungry or on the edge of hunger live in households that are: headed by a single woman; Hispanic or Black; or with incomes below the poverty line. Overall, households with children experience food insecurity at almost double the rate for households without children.
Rates of hunger in Massachusetts increased by 22 percent between 2002 and 2005.
- Connecticut Food Bank
- Good Shepherd Food-Bank
- Greater Boston Food Bank
- New Hampshire Food Bank
- RI Community Food Bank
- Vermont Foodbank
