Empowered to Succeed | Kinder Gifts
Have you ever been both grateful but at the same time overwhelmed with the number of presents your child received for their birthday, wondering where you are going to store them all and later noticing that only a few are actually played with? Have you ever been concerned about your family's impact on the environment and wondered how you could improve that without actually living off grid? And have you ever wondered how you could encourage your child to develop their sense of empathy and sharing?
Last week I had the honour of meeting Svetlana, the founder of a small business with sharing as its core mission. The first thing that struck me about Svetlana was her passion for her work, it was really enjoyable to hear about her business.
Since her son turned 3, this mother of two found herself bothered by pile of gifts he would receive and noticed that the more he received, the less grateful he became, clearly overwhelmed with the amount as well. Her son is now 10 and a daughter has since joined the family, so there were many more birthdays to consider a solution.
She wondered what she could do to improve this situation and how she could create a fun party for her child and his friend that would help him grow more rather than less thankful.
And so the idea of Kinder Gifts was born, with a name thought up by her mother-in-law that beautifully played upon the German word for children and also the key concept at the heart of her new company.
Whilst many people find that it can be frustrating receiving a lot of material gifts, especially those like me who live in a small flat, etiquette says that asking for cash towards a single item is rude and grabby. Kinder Gifts provides the perfect workaround which will satisfy even the strictness of etiquette experts.
Kinder Gifts works by bringing together the components of organising a party . Through the easy-to-use website, you choose your personal invite, then select a gift you would like for your child to receive (or upload your own gift), lastly and most importantly you choose a charity you would like to support and what percentage of your gift you would like to go towards the charity.
On receiving the invites, your invitees can donate an amount of their choice to your gift. On the day of the party, the child will receive their present and also a kindness certificate from Kinder Gifts.
The first party Kinder gifts ran raised an incredible £700 for a beloved charity as the family chose the 100% portion then topped up the gifts themselves as well as covering the cost of the group gift themselves.
As well as the obvious benefits for the environment - fewer plastic products that will end up in the bin in two week - the focus on giving to charity at the heart of Kinder Gifts helps children to learn about sharing and how they can help others as they celebrate their special occasion. The invitation function also makes parent's lives that bit easier.
It was so inspiring talking to Svetlana and seeing how small businesses can be used as a force for good. In this day and age the world may seem like a scary place but seeing people come with ideas to counteract that is quite a powerful thing.
All the charities that Kinder Gifts work with are child-focused and have been personally contacted by Svetlana who receives their full support. By looking at the descriptions in the website you can see where your money will go. For example £30 to the Stand By Me charity will provide a school uniform, bag and shoes for a child in a developing country. The variety of charities will allow your child to pick a cause that they feel especially passionate about. This in turn also helps to raise awareness of good causes in the local community, which will be a huge benefit to the listed charities as they depend on all gifts - big and small.
Svetlana's mission through her small business is to change the way people celebrate - to help raise a generation of children who are socially aware, who know they are privileged and want to use that to help others. In an industry worth a billion pounds, the sky is the limit, and in the future Kinder Gifts could extend their work to other celebrations such as Christmas, weddings and Secret Santas. This is very much a trial phrase for Kinder Gifts at the moment, but I am so looking forward to seeing where their journey goes and especially to introducing my own two daughters to the concept of kinder gifts.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed my first small business interview, please go and have a look at Kinder Gift's website and show your support!
If you would love your small business to be featured, please do get in touch with me, at the Small Business Call Outs link!
