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Just a quick update to let you know that we REACHED OUR GOAL of $10,000 for our Diversity Jellybean campaign! Thank you to our many supporters! You are helping to make my dream a reality and the world a better place!

Small Business Uses Crowdfunding To Spread Sugar Coated Message

EDMOND, Okla., – June 28, 2012   iCelebrateDiversity.com’s founder, Tracy Jackson speaks to children as young as preschoolers about the simple message of not judging people by their appearance. In fact, she even uses candy to spread the message. Diversity Jellybeans look like ordinary jellybeans, but they have a secret: “You can’t determine what is on the inside by simply looking at the outside.” A red jellybean might taste like licorice and a black jellybean might taste like coconut. It’s always a surprise with thirty-six flavor and color combinations. “Many schools use them as part of their anti-bullying and teaching tolerance curriculum,” said Tracy. It’s a simple but resonate message that translates from the classroom to the boardroom. From Apple to Disney to Starbucks, corporations committed to diversity have utilized Diversity Jellybeans as a training tool to bring awareness to subconscious stereotyping and hidden biases. Enter problem: Her supplier went out of business. “This is both my biggest nightmare and biggest opportunity,” says Jackson, “I have to turn away orders because I don’t have enough capital to meet the manufacturer’s 10,000 pound minimum for custom jellybeans.” Enter (hopeful) solution: So, she took to the popular crowdfunding site Indiegogo.com three weeks ago to help raise the money. While she has raised nearly half of her $10,000 goal, her deadline is fast approaching and if she does not reach her goal, she will receive nothing. Tracy is hoping people will open their hearts (and wallets) to help her keep spreading this important, yet tasty, sugar coated message. To get involved or learn more about her campaign, visit: http://www.indiegogo.com/stop-stereotyping iCelebrateDiversity.com is an Edmond, OK based company that launched in August 2001. The company has grown from being an internet resource for parents to a leading resource for schools and corporations looking for unique tools to assist in teaching about diversity, stereotyping, bullying and team building. For more information, call (405) 426-9706 or visit iCelebrateDiversity.com.

 

We have been given lots of favor in the last 24 hours! We are going to be able to move forward with our manufacturer with a smaller budget AND Indiegogo truly wants us to succeed! They have allowed us to cut our goal to $10,000!! This is AMAZING NEWS! Please help us continue to get the word out about this great teaching tool! Every little bit helps! $1, $5, truly anything you can give! Will you help us keep this work going? And share it with friends? Diversity Jellybean Campaign (might I add that crowdfunding is definitely not for the faint of heart!)

Thank you to the many supporters so far! Please help us continue to get the word out! Go here to support our campaign: www.indiegogo.com/stop-stereotyping [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db9_Rp3gsRs]

“Racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it.” - Ruby Bridges Hall

America is not like a blanket - one piece of unbroken cloth. America is more like a quilt - many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven together by a common thread." ~ Rev. Jesse Jackson

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! Super cute! This sweet story is about a biracial little girl who stays home with (White) dad while her (Black) mom goes to the beauty shop for her weekly scheduled appointment. She "does" her daddy's hair while she anticipates what mommy will look like when she comes home. Another self-published book that I love! Buy it here! (I just ordered a new one from this author that I'll review soon)

Embrace Our Differences Bracelet is a favorite on our site! It has lots of great quotes on the inside (not all appear on image above): Outside: Embrace Our Differences. Inside: "Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else!" ~ Margaret Mead; "We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." ~ Jimmy Carter; "Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice." ~ Alice Childress Buy it here!

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