three:twelve

about two years ago a friend from LA and I were sitting around contemplating life in our apartment...as 20 somethings in university do. We asked ourselves a few questions along the lines of "what am I good at/what gives me joy?" and "how could God use that to make a difference in the world?" After weeks of talking and dreaming and talking and dreaming we finally came up with a fairly simple idea: let's start an apparel company and give the profits to people in need.

needless to say "real life" got the best of us and the dream died...somewhat. It wasn't until a few months ago we began to rececitate it. Over the past year God really began to lay the issues of slavery and trafficking on kelly and I's hearts. We really weren't sure what to do with it, but after a while we realized we couldn't shake it and this could possibly (probably) be an area God is leading us to work in more long-term. We began reading anything and everything about modern-day slavery, including finding out what the Bible had to say about it (to our surprise there was a lot). After many a nights of talking and dreaming and praying and talking and dreaming (you get the idea, a lot of thinking went into this) kelly finally said "let's stop dreaming about this and just do it."And with a few international phone calls home to my friend Eric three:twelve began to breathe again. Since then, we have started the journey of forming a 501c3 nonprofit, which is more confusing than it sounds.

three:twelve exists to create sustainable livelihoods for victims of slavery and injustice throughout world. It is our hope that throught the sale of Fair Trade organic apperal we can raise awareness on issues of justice and equity, empower ex-slaves through creative ventures and sustainable employment opportunities as well as invest in community initiatives - from education and clean water to skills training and aftercare support.

yes, its a big dream, far beyond our abilities and resources; but faith is creating with our lives what only our hearts can conceive...and three:twelve is the impossible we would like to make possible. To be a part of creating a world where the kingdom of God meets the needs of those on the outside, the forgotten and marginalized. We realize its only a small part, but a bunch of small parts, like yeast in a batch of dough or a mustard seed in a garden, eventually spread throughout the whole. more later.