This month’s Mercer Savings Bank Giving Mission recipient is Project Everybody Beautiful. The apparel line uses a percentage of its profits to benefit Everybody Beautiful, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering women to overcome abuse, addiction, or other unfortunate circumstances.
Learn more about the organization and find out how you can help support its mission.
Stories Inspire Action for Local Hair Salon Owner
Kristin Rutledge, owner of Identity Hair Salon in downtown Celina since 2001, has met many different women over the years in her salon. Their stories of hardship and heartache inspired Kristin to take action to give a hand up to help women gain confidence when they needed it most.
After brainstorming for a few years, Kristin launched an apparel line called Project Everybody Beautiful in 2018 to fund her non-profit, Everybody Beautiful.
“Because I’m a giver and not a taker, I wanted to figure out how I could fund my own non-profit without going around asking for money,” said Kristin. “So that is why I started Project Everybody Beautiful with t-shirts and other apparel.”
Kristin has even dedicated her apparel store to support worthy causes. For example, she featured purple shirts to donate proceeds to a cystic fibrosis foundation. Kristin offered a line of red shirts for a heart foundation, and yellow shirts to promote awareness and donate funds to a cancer foundation.
Removing Roadblocks One Step at a Time
Kristin has witnessed many women face roadblocks in their journeys to overcome difficult circumstances. In order to interview for a job, it’s important to feel confident when presenting your best self to an employer.
“Women who are unable to afford to get their hair done or pay for dentures or other teeth repairs may be hesitant to apply for a job,” said Kristin. “It can be very expensive to pay for dental work, so a lot of our funds are dedicated to pay for those types of services.”
Everybody Beautiful also runs an annual coat exchange program throughout the colder months, starting in November.
“We put out a sign in front of the salon by a coat rack that says if you have a coat, you can leave one —or if you need a coat, you can take one,” said Kristin. “It’s a revolving coat rack that is convenient and set up throughout the fall and winter.”
Kristin will also use funds from her non-profit to purchase a coat in a specific size if it’s not available on the coat rack. She fills a need as she sees it.
“Recently, there was a young woman who was about to start a new job, and she was so excited but just couldn’t find the money to buy the required non-skid shoes she needed for her first day,” said Kristin. “So, I went out and bought the shoes and dropped them off to her.”
Sometimes landlords or other loved ones approach Kristin about helping someone they know who needs a boost of goodwill in their life. From covering the cost of an electric bill to cutting and styling someone’s hair who’s bedridden on hospice care, Kristin steps up to help where there’s a need.
Supporting Everybody Beautiful
“Our biggest service, providing dentures and other dental care and repairs, comes with a large cost,” said Kristin. “The payoff is so rewarding to see because improving your teeth can be a big appearance and confidence booster for women.
Kristin plans to use the Giving Mission funds from Mercer Savings Bank to help support their yearly coat exchange program.
Additional information about Project Everybody Beautiful can be found on their website and Facebook page, as noted below. You can contact Kristin directly through email or phone if you have a need or would like to help support the organization.
Website: https://projecteverybodybeautiful.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projecteverybodybeautiful
Email: projecteb@yahoo.com
Phone: 419-305-2093
