Young Entrepreneurs Go on a Mission to Help the Homeless

Store with a Heart
UKindness Magazine
Published in
4 min readNov 3, 2020
Photo by Katt Yukawa on Unsplash

You’re never too young to make a difference in the lives of others. This is what Anisha Haque, 17, and Mariette Reblora, 18, are proving as they launch their business, MxA Canvas, and its “Art for the Homeless” fundraiser.

Here’s more about their story as featured in dozens of international news channels and media sites:

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“Store with Heart Announces its Socio-Entrepreneurial Partnership with MxA Canvas The South Australian ecommerce startup and a young duo of budding California entrepreneurs are starting small but dreaming big by helping the homeless and in the spirit of social consciousness.

Adelaide, South Australia — Store with a Heart is all set to fulfill its promise of not only spreading joy through a range of thoughtful products but also in making the world a better place one gift at a time. This started through its contributions to two of the most significant concerns of the contemporary world — hunger and sustainability. Part of the shop’s long-term plan is to work with more like-minded individuals, businesses, and other organizations on causes that bring about the good change that matters; the partnership with MxA Canvas kickstarts the works for this lofty goal.

“Mariette and Anisha are doing the world a great favour with what they intend to do for those who are in need. Addressing social issues such as homelessness in a small, yet incremental way is aligned with what Store with a Heart aims for,” says Esperanza Pretila, the founder of Store with a Heart as she refers to the two MxA Canvas founders. “We are not huge. Yet, with the support of more generous people, we can help achieve this two youngsters’ noble goal,” she adds.

“MxA Canvas had this idea before the pandemic started to help homeless people shop for their clothes. We planned to put up a pop-up store on the street where they can just “buy” them for free. This allows them to pick whatever they like,” explains Mariette Reblora, spokesperson and co-founder of MxA Canvas.

“We had to cancel that original plan, though, when the virus came to be. Anisha and I then thought of merging my small business with that previous idea. We will get clothes from donations and thrift stores, and we will customize them to make them more unique for homeless people. Plus, we’re planning on generating more cash flow through art commissions and painting on bags, clothes, shoes, etc. We will then donate the proceeds to a homeless shelter,” says Reblora.

At Store with a Heart, it is their mission to make a difference in one way or another starting with every gift. They aim to bring about a positive change not only to the lives of their shoppers and their gift recipients but also to others, the planet, and future generations. They do this, among others, by offering free 100% earth-friendly zero-carbon emission gift delivery to almost anywhere in the world while providing value for money. In addition to a carefully-curated local as well as globally-sourced collection of gift products, they also offer fairtrade and organic options that are deemed ethical and eco-conscious. A portion of the sales proceeds from their featured products also goes to feed the hungry through their partnership with Pledgeling Foundation.

While there has been slow but steady progress over the past thirty years, there is still a tremendous number of people around the world who have been living in extreme poverty. 795 million people do not have enough to eat, 767 million people live on $1.90 a day or less, and 6 children die each minute from a hunger-related disease. Meanwhile, 65.3 million people have been driven out of their homes. Although there is still much debate on what causes climate change, the need to protect the environment remains relevant. This socio-entrepreneurial partnership with MxA Canvas is aimed to help address these world issues, in one way or another.

You can make a donation or purchase from the Art for the Homeless by MxA Canvas collection through the Store with a Heart website.”

Originally published at https://storewithaheart.com on November 3, 2020.

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