Jessicurl is dedicated to more than just good hair days; we are a business committed to making a positive contribution to the world around us. We feel very strongly that Jessicurl should benefit more than just its owners. We launched the Woman Around the World program in May 2004 to raise money and awareness for different charities and non-profits around the globe.

Once I realized that this business was going to work, I knew that I wanted it to be a socially responsible business that gives back to our local AND global communities. But I thought that had to wait until we were making a certain amount of profit before implementing such a program. Two things happened that made me change my mind about the timeline.

First, I saw Dr. Katherine Hamlin on Oprah. She has dedicated her life to curing women in Ethiopia of fistulas, a horrible condition that can happen during obstructed childbirth. She opened the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in 1974 and has treated over 25,000 women at no charge. I cried while I watched that interview. I also decided that when Jessicurl could start donating money, I wanted that hospital to be the first recipient. I realized what a luxury it is for us to be so concerned with frizz-free curls!

Soon after that, I saw an interview on TV with Michael Franti, lead singer of the band Spearhead. Spearhead is known for their socially conscious lyrics and for speaking out about injustice in the world and their music is basically the soundtrack of the Jessicurl factory. :-) During the interview, Franti referred to the band as a "human rights organization." This caused an immediate shift in my paradigm of what goals I can set for my business. I thought, "If a band can be a human rights organization, can't my Jessicurl?" All of a sudden, my business became about a lot more than hair!!

Since that time we’ve raised over $3500 for a variety of different charities and also seek out other ways that Jessicurl can give back to the world around us. Had it not been for Oprah and Michael Franti, who knows how long it would have taken me to get there.


Nov. 14, 2005 -
Jess meets Michael Franti,
one of the inspirations for the
Women Around The World program.

Our Philosophy on being a small business in America.

In this time of large companies outsourcing American jobs to other countries, we are growing more and more committed to acting locally while thinking globally. As a small business in Humboldt County, CA, we feel strongly about contributing to the economic growth of our hometown. While some businesses of our size might find it more convenient to outsource product manufacturing to a major cosmetics production facility in another part of the country (or overseas), we are determined to grow our business in our county, thus creating much needed jobs for our local economy. As our production needs grow, so too will the number of local people we employ. Humboldt County has been very kind to us in the short time we’ve lived here and we plan on giving back for as long as we can.

As a young woman business owner, I am very aware of how LUCKY I am to be a woman in THIS country. I am allowed the freedom to own a business, keep my maiden name after being married, and I can wear whatever I feel like when I leave my house. Not all women of the world are afforded these freedoms, and the difference between us and them is simply a matter of where we are born. Our potential as women is basically left entirely up to fate, and this irony is just too strong for me to ignore. I don’t consider myself any more important than women in third world countries.

For this reason, I have never viewed our Public Service program as optional. I believe we’re all in this together, and for as long as I’m around I’ll be doing what I can to help as many people as I can. There’s no reason why a hair company can’t also be a human rights organization. :-)

One of my favorite bands, Spearhead, has a song lyric that really sums up this idea for me: “No life worth more than any other, no sister worth less than any brother.”

Jessicurl launched the Women Around The World program in May 2004 when we took donations for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. Thanks to everyone that donated and even those who simply bought our products. Your contributions made it possible for Jessicurl to donate $900, enough to cure two women suffering from fistulas.
Every few months we will feature a different charity that is working to support women around the world (including here in the U.S.). It is our hope that by spotlighting the great work done by these charities, Jessicurl customers will be as inspired as we are to make their own donations.

To make this as easy as possible, and also to encourage your generosity, the Jessicurl shopping cart now offers the option of making a donation to our featured charity. As an incentive, Jessicurl will reward your contribution with a discount code for savings on your next order. This is how it boils down:
• Donate $10.00, get 5% off your next order.
• Donate $25.00, get 10% off your next order.
• Donate $50.00, get 15% off your next order.
• Donate $100 and we’ll give you two 8oz bottles of the products of your choice.

If you would like to make a donation, but don’t want the discount card, we will gladly send it to whomever you like.

We think this is such a good idea that we’re actively trying to get other women owned internet businesses to adopt this awesome fundraising model. Imagine how much money could be raised?? Please check out the website of our friend Becky Yeager at SpiritGoat.com. Becky is generously offering bars of wonderful hand made soap in exchange for your donation to the Cache County Children's Justice Center. Becky also participates in the Lotion For Lives program, a collective of toiletry businesses dedicated to giving back to their communities.

We would like to hear about what is important to you. To suggest a charity you'd like Jessicurl to support, contact: publicservice@jessicurl.com

Learn about our current featured charity, The Autism Acceptance Project

The Autism Acceptance Project

The Autism Acceptance Project is working towards achieving acceptance and tolerance of autistic people in society. Founder and director Estée Klar-Wolfond has an autistic son and is the author of numerous journal articles on art and autism.

The Autism Acceptance Project will bring critical presentations, seeking to present balanced views. The public audience will hear from autistic people, researchers and parents who support autism ability instead of disability, and will be able to ask questions and debate the issues that confront both parents and autistic people. Exhibitions to bridge understanding about autism and humanity will also support and validate the work of autistic people.

"The reality is that there are autistic people living in the world, who need education, and that there are families who need to feel inspired and empowered, not constantly pounded with the message that their child is insufficient," writes Klar-Wolfond on her blog, www.joyofautism.blogspot.com. "This project is about celebrating human dignity and potential and seeks to perpetuate respect so that we can ask for a variety of services from educators to governments who need to recognize the individual potential of an autistic person."

This organization does not solicit funds for the cure of autism. Its primary mandate is to present critical lectures and exhibitions that will bring forth a different and positive view about autism to the public in order to create tolerance and acceptance in the community and to empower parents and autistic people. The Autism Acceptance Project seeks to debate science, autism belief, and to investigate and support educational needs backed by accurate science. TAAProject is interested in scientific and ethical answers to the question, "what kinds of help do autistics need in order to succeed and contribute to society as autistic people?" It seeks to support cognitive ability research.

"There are many autism fundraising organizations who solicit funds for autism cures. The autism community (autistic people) is dissatisfied and offended by such organizations touting autism as a tragic epidemic and illness," writes Estée Klar-Wolfond. "They believe that the relationship between illness and being autistic is misleading the public and the media. Every parent of an autistic child knows that our beautiful children demand from us a commitment to joy. Joy is struggle’s antithesis. We can not experience one without the other. By waiting for a cure, autistic people continue to be marginalized. The educational system, while improved since the seventies, still remains unprepared for the increasing number of autistic children."

From TAAProject’s website:
"Because finding joy doesn't come without struggle; Because the point is to find it; Because if an autistic person says autism is a way of being, not an illness, then it is; Because every human has value and is a joy; Because despite inhumane acts and words, we must continue to believe in humanity; But most of all, because of our children."

I applaud the positive angle TAAP has at its core and very much want to help them in their cause. We all hear how more and more children are being diagnosed with autism every day, and these children (and adolescents and adults!) need to feel loved and accepted. After all, isn’t that what all people want and need? You can learn more about the events being put on by TAAP at: http://www.taaproject.com/taapmission.cfm

Click here to donate today!
As a thank you, we'll give you a discount on your next Jessicurl purchase!