Our Commitment
The goal of Faithreads exists to be an offspring of inspiration, and one of the Bible passages that inspires me the most is Psalms 8:
“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth!”
Psalm 8:1-9 KJV
Verse 6 talks about how we have "dominion" over the world that God created, and that we are made to take care of it all. When I read that word, I don't just think of power, I think of responsibility. I think of stewardship. When God made Adam, He had Adam name the animals and look over Eden. One of our responsibilities is to take care of the world around us, and my hope is that Faithreads can help the world too.
As Faithreads grows, I also hope that its ability to do good grows as well. For now, we are helping out in these three ways:
Helping our Neighbors
Faithreads is a personal business endeavor, and is not affiliated with a church. That being said, 10% of Faithreads’ profits will support a local, independent, Hispanic Baptist church in Castro Valley called Iglesia Bíblica Bautista Vida Nueva. You can learn more about Vida Nueva and my association with them through their website, www.ibbvn.org.
Helping the Planet
A part of being stewards of this world is taking care of what we have. I am a fervent believer that we should appreciate and take care of God’s blessings, so 5% of all of Faithreads' profits will also go toward A Rocha International. A Rocha shares my personal convictions that we are responsible for the planet and that climate change has been overwhelmingly been caused by our actions. Climate change affects people with lower economic status the most, and it is important to not only take care of the planet God gave us stewardship over, but also to help others. You can learn more about A Rocha International through their website, arocha.org
In addition, Faithreads also commits to having net-zero CO2 emission for all shipments. What this means is that, while all shipping will cause carbon dioxide emissions for the foreseeable future, we support organizations that are taking the CO2 emissions from shipping and capturing them so it they don't harm the environment. Here's a list of the organizations we support to make this happen:
- Grassroots Carbon
- Mast Reforestation
- Climeworks
- Heirloom
- Remora
- Running Tide
- When you select the CO2 Offset option in shipping, proceeds go to Native: A Public Benefit Corporation
Helping People Around the World
"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall."Isaiah 25:4 KJV
The Bible clearly and repeatedly calls us to help those who need. In Matthew 22, Jesus Himself calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. God's commands for us do not shy away from our responsibility to one another, and because of that, Faithreads has also committed another 5% of profits to be donated to Compassion International. All funds will be donated to their general fund, so they can direct those funds to where it is needed most. You can learn more about Compassion International through their website, www.compassion.com.
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20% of annual profits
I personally recognize that we can't throw money at every issue, and that a lot of issues take real action to make possible. But that's exactly why I am donating to causes like these. They have many years of experience, many more than I do. Faithreads will continue to grow, and so will the amount of money going to these organizations.
Organizations like A Rocha and Compassion have been committed to being stewards of this planet and of each other. I encourage you to not only learn more about the missions of these organizations, but also donate yourself if you feel compelled to, either by conscience or through the Holy Spirit.
What's next for Faithreads' commitment?
These commitments have been made even before the opening of the store in November 2023. But like I said, as Faithreads grows, so will the good Faithreads can do.
In addition to raising the percentage of profits donated to each of these organizations, I hope to work toward a net-zero product lineup that doesn't compromise on quality in the future. We already have Eco-Friendly products in the store (and will be putting out more as time goes on), and have already committed to only selling clothing from WRAP-Certified factories, but there is always more we can do to reach a completely sustainable product line.
I hope you are looking forward to seeing those changes take shape.
Blessings,
