Giving Back - Bella Luccè

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Bella Luccè has built the spirit of philanthropy into the very foundation of the company. From its very first day in operation, Bella Luccè has focused on sourcing fair-trade ingredients, which ensure that local farmers, harvesters and processors are paid fair, working wages for their efforts without exploitation. Additionally, we have partnered with various charitable organizations, working to alleviate hunger and poverty, provide literacy and skills training, and build character and confidence in people around the world. We’re especially excited about the nonprofit we've recently founded…

● From Morocco With Love
Lela Barker (Bella Luccè's founder and creative director) often journeys to foreign lands to study the cultures and indigenous beauty traditions while researching new ingredients for inclusion in the Bella Luccè product range. One such trip landed her in Morocco, exploring Rhassoul clay mines in the Atlas Mountains, watching argan nuts ground into oil near Marrakech and learning about botanical essential oil distillation near Khemisset.

During the same visit, Lela's driver (Hassane) took her to spend a day with local school children in a remote village in the Moroccan countryside. The two room school house had no library, no computers, no overhead projectors, no smart boards. The school had neither heat nor air conditioning. There were no crayons, no jump ropes, playground equipment, no hot meals. The students, those that can afford the $50 per year tuition, walk or ride the family donkey between two and four kilometers one-way to reach the school.

The teachers leave their homes and families during the week and travel to the rural area to aid in the development of these children. The women share the most basic living quarters. On less than $400 per month, the teachers must provide for their transportation to and from the school, their food while at the school, and all of their family expenses at home. The “teacher house” has no heat, no air conditioning, no refrigerator, no computer, no running water, no stove, no cabinetry. The tenacity and commitment to learning of the 156 students and their dedicated teachers left an indelible impression on the American. Lela planned for her company, Bella Luccè, to adopt the Moroccan school. However, she soon realized there was more work to be done than her small beauty company could tackle alone.

Lela returned home to her family and business determined to stay somehow connected to Morocco. She brought as much of Morocco as she could carry in her luggage home to share with friends and family—gorgeous Berber blankets, hammered silver earrings and embossed leather poufs. Amidst the “ooh’s” and “aah’s”, a flood of people slipped in “bring-me-back” requests for her next trip. Worried about luggage restrictions on her next journey, Lela attempted to fill the requests immediately. Yet the online prices for the Moroccan goodies she’d just purchased so reasonably left her gobsmacked. Yet, with the sticker shock, came inspiration:

What if Lela could employ Hassane to shop for the most exquisite Moroccan luxuries, pay the artisans well for their work, ship the goods stateside and sell it at reasonable prices? Most importantly, what if all the profits could be returned to the Moroccan people to help them with the basics so many take for granted such as clean water, education and health care?

Lela immediately phoned Hassane, her plans tumbling out with wild enthusiasm. Hassane simply and humbly replied “Alhamdulillah” (thanks be to God). And so it began… Bella Luccè seeded the nonprofit with a gift of $40,000 in late 2009 and From Morocco, With Love officially launched on February 15, 2010. The Bella Luccè fulfillment staff continues to pack each and every order and Bella Luccè donates the warehouse space needed for the nonprofit each month. We invite you to browse our unique selection of Moroccan handicrafts, knowing that every purchase provides shoes to local children, sends little girls to school and plants gardens for local family as a via means of financial self-sufficiency.

Bella Luccè is also proud to support the following organizations in 2010:

● Women For Women
The mission is breathtakingly simple: to help women in war-torn regions rebuild their lives. Sponsors “adopt” a specific woman for just $27 per month (which includes funding for direct aid, rights education, job skills training and small business development) so that the beneficiaries can move toward self-sufficiency. American and European women are so blessed to have the basic rights that we do and it breaks my heart that there are women on this planet who labor daily under oppressive, poverty-stricken regimes without the promise that I enjoyed as a birthright. Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women For Women, helped an astounding 30,000 women in 2005 in Afghanistan, Congo, Rwanda and Sudan. Bella Luccè is proud to sponsor one woman in a war-torn country for every member of our staff.

● Assisting NGO's in West Africa
In June of 2010, Lela Barker will journey to Ghana for 10 days of pro bone technical assistance for two NGO's. Both Jaksally in Bolè and the Widows & Orphans Movement in Bolgatanga process shea nuts into butter and Lela will be incountry to help improve quality control, understand shea butter from a buyer's perspective and teach a few simple recipes for finished products using shea butter. She is proud to have the support of the West Africa Trade Hub during this journey.

● Farm Sanctuary
Bella Luccè is blessed to process all of our incoming credit card transactions through Dharma Merchant Services, an ethically-minded company that donates 10% of our gross annual fees to the charity of our choice. Thanks to the generosity of Dharma Merchant Services, Bella Luccè has selected Farm Sanctuary as our 2010 charity partner. Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization. Their 175-acre farm, founded in 1986, is home to hundreds of rescued animals who live out their days of bliss in the rolling hills of upstate New York. In addition to the rescue of abused and abandoned animals, the organization also focuses on advocacy and education through various outreach programs and legislative sponsorships.

● SisterCare
Bella Luccè has, for several years, donated surplus product to SisterCare, a local shelter and rehabilitation shelter for victims of domestic abuse. If a label isn’t quite straight, if a jar was jostled in shipment but returned to us essentially unharmed, or if we have superfluous bottles of a recently discontinued or seasonal item, it winds up in the hands of the these women, in hopes of bringing a bit of respite and a dash of pampering as they seek to rebuild their lives and homes. Bella Luccè looks forward to continuing our support in 2010…

Past Charity Partnerships

To date, Bella Luccè has shared products, donated time and made cash donations totaling more than $90,000 with the following organizations:

If you are aware of an organization that might be a good candidate for our Giving Back program, please submit a proposal to givingback@bellalucce.com - we'll be reviewing submissions for new charity partners in 2011!