Abigail, from Newton, Massachusetts, hosted a Thanda Zulu jewelry party with her mom over the holiday season. Here are her reflections about the party and on Thanda Zulu itself!
I decided to host a ThandaZulu jewelry party because just cutting checks to an organization I believed in wasn’t cutting it. But, as we all know, wanting to do more is very different than actually doing more. I remember flipping though my calendar for dates and thinking, how can I possibly squeeze in another thing?
After hosting my party, though, I can tell you, the party squeezes itself in—it is so easy, you’ll spend the most time coming up with your invite list. And this one-more-thing, which I chose to hold right before the holidays, when life is truly mad, is perhaps the most important, most rewarding thing I’ve done all year. Not to mention, it was great fun, too.
The folks at Thanda Zulu have the jewelry party process down to a science. Their directions are not only incredibly clear, I found myself thinking, really, this is all I have to do? They provide you with an electronic invite (or paper, if you prefer), info about the organization to share with your guests, a list of indispensable tips for a successful event, and will even put together a selection of jewelry for you.
Together, my mother and I invited 50 people. Eager to finish up their holiday shopping, they left the display table almost bare in a short 45 minutes. We ran out of certain necklaces before we even ran out of mini-quiches!
In two hours, we raised nearly $1800 dollars. Friends were eager to have us throw the party again next year…but at Thanksgiving, so that they could buy early and buy more.
As we packed away enough left over cheese to last until May, my mother and I both thought about quitting our jobs and taking Thanda Zulu on the road à la Mary Kay, so pleased were we with our success.
And then there was the feeling of handing that fat envelope over to Thanda: I wanted to give them a substantial amount for all of the work they do, for all the people who need it, and as thanks for how helpful they were to those who wanted to help them. In the end, while I was impressed with the amount of money we raised, I was proud to have been a part of Thanda’s goal of sustainability.
When you sell Thanda Zulu jewelry, you are selling a local product, and supporting local needs. It is not charity, it is community. That’s how I felt after my party, like a member of the Thanda community. And I can’t wait to do it again.
Thanks, Abigail!
