What’s Mine is Yours is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was first established in June 2012. The corporation’s founders, Katie Easterly and Paige Blake, began this charity upon entering their first year of high school—a time when many young girls feel pressure to have the “right” clothes and get to experience the fun that goes along with shopping for this outfit with a doting mother. These two brilliant young women realized that not everyone has the funds or stable family structure to experience the luxury of shopping for that perfect first day of school outfit many of us fret over. As the girls got older and the company evolved, “What’s Mine Is Yours” began to supply any in-need girls with a shopping experience and outfit that will empower them. Young girls and women who receive clothing from this organization have the means of clothing-oriented self-expression that they otherwise would not be able to access.
Katie and Paige recently visited Meredith Vieira’s daytime talk show to discuss their corporation and the host had several great surprises in store for them. First, Meredith and her team created the first ever WMIY pop-up boutique and invited a lovely group of girls, many of whom live in foster homes, to be the first shoppers. She also invited fashion icon Betsey Johnson to participate in the shopping experience. One awesome visitor told the viewers that she had her first ever job interview the following day and was incredibly excited to find the perfect outfit in the shop—the girls helped her to find an appropriate, empowering, and amazing outfit to wear to her interview. Clothing can be a wonderful form of self-expression and female empowerment, so all girls should be able to utilize it!
WMIY has made impressive strides since they began operating in 2012. The girls have collected over fifteen thousand articles of clothing for other girls in their community and have partnered with several key educational and foster care organizations and services across the country. We are looking forward to watching this great organization grow!
You can watch the girls’ appearance on the Meredith Vieira show here:
http://meredithvieirashow.com/videos/whats-mine-is-yours-pop-up-shop/
Be sure to check out the homepage for WMIY too and see how you can help!