So, I know this person . . .
Last year I had the wonderful opportunity of being involved in Grove City College’s Children’s Theatre production of Seussical. The show was a blast, and I met some fantastic people; one of whom was Hannah List. Anyways, to get to the point, one day after the end of the school year–around graduation and May intersession–I saw Hannah sewing something as she was sitting on a bench with a friend, just outside of Beans on Broad. I asked her what she was working on and so she showed me: it was a neat, vintage, hand-made bowtie, and with that she shared a story . . .
Micah List
She told me she was making it for her brother’s business. Micah, her brother, had spent the fall semester of his junior year in Bangkok, Thailand. Near the end of his time there, Micah went out with some friends for a fun night of Karaoke at a local bar. When they arrived they found that the bar was not offering Karaoke as an entertainment option. Instead they were approached by twelve young Thai women with deadening looks of despair in their eyes. These were trafficked women, and they were selling sex. Micah was horrified, but in this moment of pain he was overcome with hope and resolution.
The word “Tok” in Acholi means “Hat.” Micah’s huge idea was to take his connections and resources to make everything from hats to bowties, and sell them to raise money to help these women. The goal is to help these women get to safe houses, to remove them from the brothels. Micah hopes to also provide these women with jobs making his products. Not only would he pay them fairly, but it would provide the women a way out. A way to make money without selling themselves.
#DYP
Micah’s motto for the business is “Do your part.” He wants people to understand the problem and to contribute to a solution. For each product he sells, 25% is given to help these women. All you have to do is buy a hat, tie, or shirt. For such a new business, their website is surprisingly intuitive and slick. You really should check it out. They also have some of their products for sale on a rack at Beans on Broad. Come by sometime, you may even see Micah hanging out there–he spends a lot of time at Beans these days. Pull him aside, ask him about The Tok Project, and learn how you too can do your part.
What a great organization! How inspiring that the Tok Project is fighting human trafficking while selling products that are becoming more and more popular in today’s market. Perhaps there could even be a partnership between the Tok Project and other prominent organizations in the same field such as IJM, Love146, etc.
I had no idea that this inspiring organization was in my backyard here at Grove City! Their website and products are impressive and of a high quality. This is a heartbreaking issue and I am grateful that Micah did not simply see and feel this pain and forget about it. I know where I will be looking for Christmas shopping.
This is such a great idea! Human trafficking is such a huge problem and this is a great idea to help these women get money to support themselves. It’s also really important because people don’t realize human trafficking happens everywhere! This is a great social enterprise because people actually will want to buy these products, but at the same time they are going to such a great cause. Props to Micah for fighting this sex slavery!
I saw this the other day in Beans! I was thinking maybe the business could expand to make hairbands for wormen, since their bowties look a lot like what a girl might wear as a hairband.
I was intrigued by their logo. It’s certainly recognizable, but I wonder if there’s any significance to the way the symbols are all separated by the X in the middle. I think it’s neat how they are marketing their logo as well as their product itself by having it on t-shirts.
Human trafficking is a huge issue in today’s society whether we are aware of it or not. It’s great to see that someone is striving to fix this issue. This serves as a great social enterprise in that it provides quality products for people and at the same time you can help these women in need. I was also intrigued by the logo and I think it’s neat how they use twitter to connect with customers.
I met Micah List earlier this year and learned about his business. This is a really cool way to help women going through sex trafficking. It is a rising issue, that needs to be addressed. I know that Rooted Beauty, a similar business to the TOK Project deals with the same issue. It would be sweet to see if they would be able to do something together!