Two Langley sisters have limited supply remaining of a gift box featuring products from local small businesses, but the pair “hope” to sell off their inventory to reach their $10,000 fundraising goal in support of an international charity.
Sisters Shannon Obando, 35, and Jen Spier, 29, started Hope in a Box after Spier returned from Cambodia with Hope International Development Agency as part of Women for Water in 2019, where she helped finish building a school and water wells.
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“Hope International is a non-profit organization and they help in over 17 countries,” Spier explained. “They help provide clean water, education… they really help to provide resources to communities in need.”
Upon her return it got the sisters thinking how they could continue their support efforts from home.
“How can we come up with something that can help our community and help local businesses,” Obando recalled thinking in the early days of the pandemic.
That’s when the pair founded Hope in a Box.
“We reached out to local businesses for donated product… people were happy to donate to a good cause, which was amazing to see,” Obando enthused.
The sisters offer two types of Hope in a Box, which are each filled with a minimum of 15 local, ethical and low waste items donated from businesses in Langley, Surrey, Vancouver and even the Interior.
Each box is $99, but is valued at over $200.
All proceeds from the sale of a box benefit Hope International, Obando assured.
“They (purchasers) are able to read where these products are from and [about] the businesses that are doing amazing things,” she added, noting the small businesses owners who have donated products to the cause.
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The women have raised $7,000 so far, $3,000 shy of their fundraising goal.
But they’re hoping by selling the remainder of their boxes they can achieve their fundraising target.
“Along the way we have been able to support these local businesses and promoted them,” Obando noted.
The sisters “hope” to host the fundraiser annually.
For more information or to purchase a box visit hopeinabox.ca.
@JotiGrewal_
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
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