Messenger Bag by Cinnamon Cooper
If you find yourself carrying a daily bag, you've probably found yourself asking "Where is the perfect bag?" I know I asked myself this pretty regularly. But since I had some sewing skills, I thought I might be able to be my own solution. I measured everything I wanted to carry in my bag, window-shopped other bags for weeks and then I created a prototype. As I was working out the problems with the bag, I read online that several feminist organizations were planning on creating a pro-choice march in DC during Spring 2004. Since I was flirting with starting a business that would permit me to raise money for non-profits that I wanted to support, I wanted to find a way to incorporate feminism into this bag, which admittedly looked a bit plain. Then I remembered that I'd beaded the "we won't go back" crossed-out hanger symbol on a dressy bag for a feminist fundraiser and it struck me: I should create the Pro-Choice Messenger bag. So for 5 months I sold the bag on my website and donated a portion of the proceeds to either the national effort that was organizing the march or to create scholarships for women who wanted to attend the march but needed funds to rent a space on a bus.
I was delighted to be able to help send three additional marchers to DC, and I'm sure I helped buy quite a lot of signs and stickers and buttons for the national organizers. But when I got home and I was fighting off anger because the march was so easily dismissed by the media, and decided to keep selling the bag. But I wanted the buyer to be able to choose which Pro-Choice organization a donation would be made to. People buying the bags seemed to like knowing that women in their area were being helped because they bought a bag and proclaimed their feminist leanings. And I was feeling warm and fuzzy by this, but became incredibly humbled recently when a young woman ordered the bag and asked that I donate money to CAF who had helped one of her acquaintances recently. I wrote a brief note letting her know that a donation would be made and thanked her for being so supportive. Her reply (printed with her permission): "The women at CAF are the supportive ones. A few hundred dollars was all she needed to make it possible for her to continue with her residency. Because of CAF, and people like you, she will be able to hold the hands of other women who are struggling who need care from a stranger. Thank you all, your influence is far-reaching." I couldn't agree more. CAF is able to directly affect the lives of hundreds of women every year, and I'm grateful to be associated with them.