Over the weekend, I took a detour with my husband Eric to The Hideaway, a neighborhood bar that I’ve walked past many times but haven’t tried. I peered through the windows and the charming handwritten menu on the chalkboard wall literally said “Welcome!” so I stepped inside.

I ordered a Dark and Stormy and pigs in a blanket, feeling pleased with my tiny triumph of crossing off an item from my New York bucket list. By the time my wrapped pork pastries arrived, my drink was half full and I heard “The Winner Is” from The Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack play (a song from my wedding). I felt affirmed that the Universe guided me to day drinking.

Next to me, I noticed two women with Macbooks typing, talking and sipping wine, and I decided to introduced myself. I wanted to know what was important enough for Saturday afternoon work sessions at the bar, and this is how I met Lisa Mayer, founder of MySocialCanvas.com.

After working at a school spirit apparel startup, Lisa started My Social Canvas, a New York City-based fashion company that connects students, non-profits and brands. She identified a gap between millennials and companies that want to market to them, and with her fashion marketing know-how, she devised a way to bring them together.

My Social Canvas empowers student designers to enter corporate-sponsored design challenges that can (i) get their work seen on a nationwide stage (ii) be sold with a portion of proceeds going to charity (iii) raise awareness about their causes. The designs are crowdsourced by other millennials and purchased by millennials (as well as us older folks too).

Money is energy and each purchase is a choice. I was reminded of this when I saw the powerful yet terrible photo of two Bangladesh factory workers killed in the building collapse where clothes for Joe Fresh were sewn. There’s a cost to our cheap clothes, food and gadgets. It may feel too far away to fix but we can help by making better choices about what we buy.

Thanks Universe for steering me to The Hideaway. What started as a Dark and Stormy ended with some major enlightenment. I’ll remember to vote with my dollar every day.

with love,
mai