Some of my favorite words start with the letter “r”:
- redeem, redeemer, redemption
- reveal, revelation
Thanks to Jessica Lin, a Strategy Partner of the Longitude and Founder of Hello Rewind, my list has grown by two words:
- rewind
- restore
Hello Rewind converts t-shirts — ideally ones you can’t/don’t wear anymore but can’t bear to throw away — into laptop sleeves. Something old turns into something new; it’s a creative way to recycle (ah, another “r” word!).
And if that wasn’t nifty enough, Hello Rewind partners with Restore NYC, a non-profit that (in their words) provides holistic long-term aftercare services for international survivors of sex trafficking” in New York. Women once regarded and treated as commodities have their identity and dignity restored to them through the organization’s spiritual activities (which are optional for clients), safe housing, and employment/legal/medical services.
Hello Rewind trains Restore NYC clients to sew, teaches them English and equips them with basic business skills; these sex trafficking survivors comprise a crucial part of the business operations of Hello Rewind. Through this venture, they hope to reduce the risk of reentry into the sex trade and reintegrate these survivors into society.
$49 turns a favorite yet no longer wearable t-shirt into a one-of-a-kind handmade laptop sleeve, the production of which provides hands-on job training for a survivor of sex trafficking. It’s a radical return on investment, “a social enterprise creating two-fold renewal.”
I ruv it. I mean, I love it.
The word “rewind” used to remind me of renting movies from Blockbuster Video. We’d have to rewind the VHS tapes before returning them, as a courtesy to other customers; slogans like, “to play is human, to rewind is divine,” helped us remember to do just that.
But now, that motto isn’t a gimmick to me anymore. This kind of rewind truly is divine.
