It’s been an awesome spring. We’ve always believed that Alta Gracia will do best when students and other supporters spread the word but we didn’t predict the WAY students are taking over as key outreach advocates.
Here is some of what we’re seeing:
Students Taking Over the Airwaves: We have been in student papers across the country all year—now our student supporters have been talking up Alta Gracia on shows like Iowa Public Radio and KEXP, (which doubles as an awesome indie rock hub). University of Iowa student Audrey Coleman talked about efforts to enforce living wages and why she supports Alta Gracia (there’s also a great piece at the beginning with Alta Gracia worker Maritza Vargas). And Morgan Currier, a University of Washington student who visited the Alta Gracia factory this winter was talking about her work to promote Alta Gracia on campus (which included showing up at 7am on a Saturday. Bra-vo!).
The pieces are long-ish, but worth a listen…
Skype Calls with Alta Gracia Workers Blow Up (in a good way): A few months ago, we thought it would be cool to connect students with the men and women who make Alta Gracia via Skype. It’s pretty eye opening to be able to hear directly from workers how Alta Gracia has changed their lives and is reshaping their community. Now, students are organizing their own calls, with Northeastern and UMBC most recently organizing the video chat. Students come away making the connection between the clothes and the people who make them. With 35 calls at 25 campuses it’s amazing to see the interest. Want to set up your own Skype call on campus? Contact us at [email protected].
Paging Tim Gunn—Alta Gracia on the Catwalk: We like to think we’re cool, though we don’t consider ourselves high-fashion per se. But William and Mary student group, LiVE, featured Alta Gracia gear at their 3rd Annual aWEARness Fashion Show on April 15 (all proceeds went to National Multiple Sclerosis Society). Over 100 people attended the fun-filled, high fashion event of the semester—we were thrilled to be included by the W&M crew. And we can now put all our worries to rest – we’re chic!
Student-Run Facebook Pages Popping Up: We’ve noticed student-led Facebook pages popping up here and there, led by William and Mary, University of Iowa, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and even Cornell’s edgy “I Wear Alta Gracia and I Look Sexy” Facebook page. We want more! If you’ve got a page that hasn’t shown up on our radar, post on our wall to let us know.
We’re excited to see how student engagement will continue to evolve around Alta Gracia and what student supporters will come up with next. What’s your idea?
Add Comment
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.