
March 2, 2017 · 0 Comments
By Mike Pickford
One Orangeville business owner “has had enough” with the perceived negativity towards Muslims south of the border and is rolling out a new fundraising initiative designed to make recently arrived refugees feel more welcome in the community.
Lin Tull, along with her business partner Rosa Palmieri, together operate Owls in the Attic, a ‘homey’ gifts and collectibles store located on Broadway. Having sat back and watched the controversy south of the border – headed by new US President Donald Trump – unfold, Ms. Tull decided she wanted to “turn all the negative energy into something positive” and ensure our refugees feel welcome in Canada, and so developed an idea she hopes to see “take off” in the community.
The initiative centres around the production and sale of homemade soaps. For years, Ms. Tull has offered a variety of different soaps at her store, but now she wants to take things one step further – challenging the community to fill out 100 orders, with every penny of profit going towards First Line for Syria, a local non-profit group that has assisted several Syrian refugees in both relocating to Canada and acclimatizing to their new surroundings.
The soaps, which are imported from the UK and then customized by Ms. Tull, come in packages of three or four and cost $10 per package. Of that, $5 will go to First Line for Syria.
“That’s 100 percent of the profits, if not a little more,” Ms. Tull said.
With more than 30 packages already sold, Ms. Tull said she has another 70 boxes or so still to sell to reach her initial target of 100 boxes of soap sold – an amount that will allow her to write a check for $500 to the local non-profit group. While she expects to reach her target, Ms. Tull wants more.
“This thing has been incredibly popular already amongst the people that know about it, I’m hoping that once the word gets out there a little more this is something we can do again and again,” Ms. Tull said. “Why stop at 100 boxes? The nice thing about soap is that people do run out of it, they will eventually need to buy more. Why not kill two birds with one stone – purchase a product you’re going to need, while also supporting a fantastic community group.”
She added, “This does nothing but help the refugees living in our communities. Everybody has seen the picture of the little boy on the ambulance, or the little girl on the beach. This is our opportunity to help out.”
To purchase a package of soap, you can stop by Owls in the Attic, located at 75 Broadway in Orangeville, or by emailing Ms. Tull at shop@owlsintheattic.ca to place an order.