Imagine a New Life

Not a new life for you (although that's fine, too, if you need one). Imagine a new life for families who deal with crushing poverty, for girls sold into sex slavery because their parents cannot feed them.

That's what Michelle Kime and Aiyana Ehrman imagined, and they did more than dream about it. They started Imagine Goods to work with a local charity in Cambodia. Imagine Goods provides fabric, which is purchased in Cambodian markets, and women rescued from sex trafficking make handbags, aprons, and tablecloths out of them. Imagine Goods then sells the finished product in the U.S. for a fair wage.

In order to continue helping Imagine Goods and its vision, Michelle and another friend Liz Marvin opened the Sweet Charity Thrift Store Boutique. If you live near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, check it out (it's in Willow Street). They sell gently used clothing and artisan crafts, and 40 percent of the profit goes to Imagine Goods. They also stock the fair trade items made for Imagine Goods by the women in Cambodia. I've already got one item stashed away for a Christmas present. (I can't say more, in case the future recipient reads this!)

You can read an interview with Michelle here and more about the advent of Sweet Charity here.

Michelle is living proof that we can all find time for our "one thing" to make a difference in the world. She's the mom of four kids, ages 5 to 13. And she's a pastor's wife. She simply took one thing that broke her heart and decided to do something about it. And it's progressed from there.

Tell me what breaks your heart?