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Our Voices Rising: One CEO’s Journey to Alleviate Poverty Using Fashion as a Force for Good
Gretchen Huijskens is co-founder and CEO of Trades of Hope, a multi-million dollar ethical fashion brand that empowers women out of poverty by employing and partnering with Artisan Partners in over 15 countries worldwide. It is an exclusive line of high-quality, fair-trade accessories that allow people worldwide to use Fashion as a Force for Good.™
Our Voices Rising is Gretchen's inspirational origin story about the start of Trades of Hope, after her first-hand experience of starting a charity in Haiti in the early 2000s. The charity included an orphanage, school, and medical clinic, but led Gretchen to the a realization that most orphans in her care were only orphans because their mothers couldn’t afford to care for them. Gretchen’s perception of helping shifted when she realized the uncomfortable that her charity was often just a band-aid on the real problems.
Gretchen completely changed her worldview and model of charity to a sustainable business model that empowered women to provide what their families really access to education, medical care, nutritious food, a safe home, and clean water.
Today Gretchen and the team at Trades of Hope continue to help women rise out of poverty, trafficking, and gender inequality by selling their fair-trade goods with small business support of women across the United States. Gretchen is a pioneer in the field of sustainable business, and the partnerships she creates empower every single woman involved around the world.
Our Voices Rising is Gretchen's inspirational origin story about the start of Trades of Hope, after her first-hand experience of starting a charity in Haiti in the early 2000s. The charity included an orphanage, school, and medical clinic, but led Gretchen to the a realization that most orphans in her care were only orphans because their mothers couldn’t afford to care for them. Gretchen’s perception of helping shifted when she realized the uncomfortable that her charity was often just a band-aid on the real problems.
Gretchen completely changed her worldview and model of charity to a sustainable business model that empowered women to provide what their families really access to education, medical care, nutritious food, a safe home, and clean water.
Today Gretchen and the team at Trades of Hope continue to help women rise out of poverty, trafficking, and gender inequality by selling their fair-trade goods with small business support of women across the United States. Gretchen is a pioneer in the field of sustainable business, and the partnerships she creates empower every single woman involved around the world.
- GenresNonfiction
233 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2023
5 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 11, 2024
Rating 5 stars.
This book is the real story of how Gretchen Huijskens finds her purpose and in the process helps other women find opportunity, security, and meaning (my words). You’ll want to read every page to know the whole story.
Huijskens tells her story beautifully, including important details that place you in the scene. She tells it, giving much dignity and respect to every person in it. I loved knowing the end (creating jobs and opportunities for families to stay together) and then going back to the beginning (willing spirit, adoption, family) to see how it all came to be. This book is filled with hope, even in the midst of horrific stories of abuse and poverty (some on the page and many we know to be true). Much has been accomplished toward Huijskens’s mission and yet there is more to do. I appreciate that Huijskens allows women (Artisans) to share their own stories and gives practical ways to participate.
I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Thank you to Melanie Sunukjian for recommending Gretchen’s (we have many things in common so now on a first name basis 😀) book to me. Melanie knows I love real stories and this one is not only real, but really good! I’ll be speaking with Gretchen soon on The Commons with Karla podcast. If you are a woman who likes memoir and wants to make an impact, read this and be inspired. Know your values. Create a vision. Take action. Check out Trades of Hope and support women whenever you can
This book is the real story of how Gretchen Huijskens finds her purpose and in the process helps other women find opportunity, security, and meaning (my words). You’ll want to read every page to know the whole story.
Huijskens tells her story beautifully, including important details that place you in the scene. She tells it, giving much dignity and respect to every person in it. I loved knowing the end (creating jobs and opportunities for families to stay together) and then going back to the beginning (willing spirit, adoption, family) to see how it all came to be. This book is filled with hope, even in the midst of horrific stories of abuse and poverty (some on the page and many we know to be true). Much has been accomplished toward Huijskens’s mission and yet there is more to do. I appreciate that Huijskens allows women (Artisans) to share their own stories and gives practical ways to participate.
I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Thank you to Melanie Sunukjian for recommending Gretchen’s (we have many things in common so now on a first name basis 😀) book to me. Melanie knows I love real stories and this one is not only real, but really good! I’ll be speaking with Gretchen soon on The Commons with Karla podcast. If you are a woman who likes memoir and wants to make an impact, read this and be inspired. Know your values. Create a vision. Take action. Check out Trades of Hope and support women whenever you can
July 2, 2023
The first chapter of Our Voices Rising is set in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and it got my heart racing. Huijskens never holds back, and some of the stories she shares from this part of her life are heartbreaking. Sadly, not every Haitian orphanage is run with the best of intentions by its founder or manager. How it is that there are such people, with an apparent lack of compassion, is mind-boggling to me. But as her time in charge of Three Angels continued, Huijskens began to wonder if what she was doing was the best thing she could be doing for the children in her care. This is the entirety of part one of her book, and it's a great read for anyone interested in international adoption, Haiti, and charity.
The second half of the book is all about Trades of Hope. As a Trades of Hope Partner this is the section that interested me the most, especially since I'm someone who takes in more through reading than listening. I learned about the beginnings of the company, and why we're called Partners instead of consultants. It helped me understand more about what I'm doing as a Partner. But that's not to say this book is only of benefit to readers already connected to Trades of Hope. Gretchen lays out exercises to discover your values and your "why" as you seek out your passion. Obviously, she'd love for you to be part of Trades of Hope, but this can work for anyone looking to start a business. If you've never met someone from a developing nation, she also shares stories of a couple of our Artisan Partners and some of these will have you shaking your head in despair.
Not everyone will want to be - or can be - a part of Trade of Hope due to location, commitments, or interest levels. With this in mind, the final chapter of the book is called The Rising Tide of Voices (a reference to the JFK quote about a rising tide lifting all ships). In this section, Gretchen gives all of us practical actions we can do to help change the lives of women living in poverty, being oppressed, abused, trafficked, and forced into giving up their children. We are all consumers, and we have power in the how and what of our consumption. Who makes the products we buy matters. There's a human involved in the creation of every item we purchase. What is their experience of work like? Are they paid fairly? Do they have a safe working environment? Are they adults or children who should be in school?
Our Voices Rising is a very readable title, with easy to digest chunks of information. It's not a policy driven book written by someone with advanced degrees in international policy, who believes that the more complicated the sentence structure the better the book will be. What it is is a great look at one person's experience in the charity industry and how she came to the belief that charity isn't always the best way to alleviate a situation. It's a book that will make you think about your relationships with people in developing nations and may make you re-evaluate some of your actions going forward. (I know one thing I'll no longer be doing after reading this.) I recommend it to anyone who has a heart for other people. Which should be everyone.
Disclaimer: Although I am a Partner with Trades of Hope, I bought this book on Amazon. The opinions above are my own.
The second half of the book is all about Trades of Hope. As a Trades of Hope Partner this is the section that interested me the most, especially since I'm someone who takes in more through reading than listening. I learned about the beginnings of the company, and why we're called Partners instead of consultants. It helped me understand more about what I'm doing as a Partner. But that's not to say this book is only of benefit to readers already connected to Trades of Hope. Gretchen lays out exercises to discover your values and your "why" as you seek out your passion. Obviously, she'd love for you to be part of Trades of Hope, but this can work for anyone looking to start a business. If you've never met someone from a developing nation, she also shares stories of a couple of our Artisan Partners and some of these will have you shaking your head in despair.
Not everyone will want to be - or can be - a part of Trade of Hope due to location, commitments, or interest levels. With this in mind, the final chapter of the book is called The Rising Tide of Voices (a reference to the JFK quote about a rising tide lifting all ships). In this section, Gretchen gives all of us practical actions we can do to help change the lives of women living in poverty, being oppressed, abused, trafficked, and forced into giving up their children. We are all consumers, and we have power in the how and what of our consumption. Who makes the products we buy matters. There's a human involved in the creation of every item we purchase. What is their experience of work like? Are they paid fairly? Do they have a safe working environment? Are they adults or children who should be in school?
Our Voices Rising is a very readable title, with easy to digest chunks of information. It's not a policy driven book written by someone with advanced degrees in international policy, who believes that the more complicated the sentence structure the better the book will be. What it is is a great look at one person's experience in the charity industry and how she came to the belief that charity isn't always the best way to alleviate a situation. It's a book that will make you think about your relationships with people in developing nations and may make you re-evaluate some of your actions going forward. (I know one thing I'll no longer be doing after reading this.) I recommend it to anyone who has a heart for other people. Which should be everyone.
Disclaimer: Although I am a Partner with Trades of Hope, I bought this book on Amazon. The opinions above are my own.
July 15, 2023
Inspiring and challenging
This is a book that tells the author's story, yes; but it is also a book that will challenge you to think more deeply about our privilege and what we can do to truly aid others not born to our first world luxury.
I don't know many people who have the sheer nerve, faith, and determination to accomplish a fraction of what she did in the arena of charity. But what she has done to give women their voices and resources to stand up for themselves and their families is breathtaking. Her mission inspired me to become a Partner with Trades of Hope, but this book has given me greater insight into the whys behind the business so that I am even more committed to being part of this rising tide.
If you are looking for something "more" to do, something that is worthwhile and impacts others for good, this book could be an amazing resource for you. Ms. Huijskens throws in tools to use that will help you elucidate your dreams and goals that may just help you to become a world-changer like she is.
Read this book. You will learn more than you expect, and you will come away challenged to do something with what you learned--and given some ways to do it!
This is a book that tells the author's story, yes; but it is also a book that will challenge you to think more deeply about our privilege and what we can do to truly aid others not born to our first world luxury.
I don't know many people who have the sheer nerve, faith, and determination to accomplish a fraction of what she did in the arena of charity. But what she has done to give women their voices and resources to stand up for themselves and their families is breathtaking. Her mission inspired me to become a Partner with Trades of Hope, but this book has given me greater insight into the whys behind the business so that I am even more committed to being part of this rising tide.
If you are looking for something "more" to do, something that is worthwhile and impacts others for good, this book could be an amazing resource for you. Ms. Huijskens throws in tools to use that will help you elucidate your dreams and goals that may just help you to become a world-changer like she is.
Read this book. You will learn more than you expect, and you will come away challenged to do something with what you learned--and given some ways to do it!
October 7, 2023
There is so much I could say about this book, but I’ll try to keep it short. Gretchen shared her story and her heart for the mission that has been instilled in her since probably birth. Not only has she had a passion to change the lives of women and children around the world, but she took ACTION (something that many of us don’t do). Her action has made it simple for us to share in her passion & do something about the poverty & human trafficking plaguing our world. I’m thankful for Gretchen, for Trades of Hope, for her daughter, Elisabeth, and for the opportunity I have as a Partner to take ACTION and have a dignified partnership with women just trying to care for their families around the world. 🫶🏻
July 31, 2023
Very inspirational. I purchase goods from
trades of Hope and now appreciate the organization even more. A central message to take away is to understand how your chosen charity, whatever it may be, actually helps people.
trades of Hope and now appreciate the organization even more. A central message to take away is to understand how your chosen charity, whatever it may be, actually helps people.
July 11, 2023
A great read! Gretchen's story is very empowering and inspirational. If you are looking to learn more about Trades of Hope and how it got started this is a great starting point.
August 6, 2023
If you think you can’t make a difference in the world, read this book! Yes you can!!!! Excellent book!
June 19, 2023
so motivating!
This a is wonderful chronicle of love, hope, vision, hard work and positive change. Please read it for yourself and find out if you might be part of her next chapter.
This a is wonderful chronicle of love, hope, vision, hard work and positive change. Please read it for yourself and find out if you might be part of her next chapter.
July 17, 2023
Absolutely LOVED this books! I was hooked right away. I was touched and moved how Gretchen wanted to help the moms keep their children and made a way for it to happen! Bless her and Trades of Hope!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews