The one thing that I love seeing is women supporting each other. With society always pitting us against each other it’s nice to see women working together to create progress for women. Bené is a brand that provides custom-made scarves and was launched by Michelle Blue and Sasha Matthews in 2013 to provide sustainable educational opportunities for girls in Ghana. The brand was inspired by a trip that Michelle Blue took during her sophomore year in college at the University of Georgia to Ghana for a study abroad program. Michelle, who at the time was studying marketing and fashion merchandising, enlisted the help of her friend Sasha Matthew, who at the time was studying mathematics at Florida A&M University to create the brand.
The main goal of Bené is to empower women in underserved communities so that they can have the opportunity to go to school, and thus be independent. As global citizens Michelle and Sasha believe that everyone should have a chance to learn and have the opportunity to reach and achieve their dreams, “We enjoy helping others and love being fashionable yet comfortable in our own skin. We believe that every girl should have access to an education, despite where they were born. We believe that we can do our part in providing a hope and a future in the girl’s lives we support,” say Co-Founders Michelle Blue and Sasha Matthews.
The first thing you have to do is choose from five different styles that include infinity, rectangle, square, shawl, and skinny. You then pick from the five prints that they offer, which were all inspired by West African culture. The final step is to choose what trim you prefer on your scarf from hemmed, tassels, beads, and pompoms.
On the website I had the ability to see the beautiful prints that they offered. The patterns offered are very beautiful and eye-catching and I could see myself wearing every single one of the five prints. Below you can see pictures of my favorite print with the four different trims. Scarves range from $45-$85 and they are very well worth it.
Bené’s goal for 2014 is to provide at least 5 girls in Ghana with a year’s worth of education. Abigail, Rebecca, Munira, Felicia, and Esther each represent one of the five prints and you are able to see their pictures under each print as you are choosing which print you want for your scarf. Not only are you buying a stylish scarf but you have also contributed to the education of a young lady in Ghana.
The name of Michelle and Sasha’s company derives from the word benevolent which means “characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feeling” and this is exactly what they are showing with the goals that they have set for themselves. Hopefully their story has inspired other people in this generation do something to give back because after all we are all global citizens and if we all took care of each other a little bit more than who knows, our world might just be a little bit better. You can go to www.BenebyYou.com for more information and to order your custom made scarves.
Twisted Talk: What do you think of Bené scarves? Will you be ordering one for yourself or as a gift? Discuss below!
