i=Change Charities
i=Change Charities
To our small business, this ethos of ‘doing good’ delves far beyond the delight that our jewellery brings, and we are taking proactive steps towards ensuring we give back to our community.
One of these initiatives comes in the form of our partnership with i=Change. “i=Change exists to accelerate the impact of extraordinary development projects focused on human empowerment, and now also mitigate the impacts of climate change.” Jeremy Meltzer, Founder, i=Change
With i=Change, Medley currently donates $1 from every online sale to one of three chosen charities. These selected charities have been collectively and carefully chosen by our Medley team to help support our three focus pillars, Empowering Women, Giving Back to Our Community and Restoring Our Land.
At checkout, our customers get to choose from our three chosen charities and see exactly where their dollar lands via i=Change’s live donation tracker. As of April 2024, Medley has raised more than $20,000 for our elective charities.
“100% of donations are sent to carefully selected NGOs,
committed to best-practice development.”
Jeremy Meltzer, Founder, i=Change
Empowering Women
In partnership with Women’s Community Shelters
As a proud, female lead and run team, one of our core focus pillars centers around giving vulnerable women the support that they need to find their feet again.
About Women's Community Shelters:
Amidst the current economic challenges, Women's Community Shelters are currently strained, facing a surge of 25% in inquiries for safe accommodation for women and children experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence. Unfortunately, as existing services are operating at full capacity, more than half of women seeking shelter are being turned away due to the unavailability of beds. This is a grave concern as approximately 56,000 women in Australia are left vulnerable to being homeless each night, and many of them are with young children. Those who cannot access shelters are often left feeling unsafe and disconnected from the community and their support networks. The mission of Women’s Community Shelters is to provide a secure and nurturing environment for women and children in need, offering them a chance to rebuild their lives.
Giving Back to Our Community
In partnership with The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation
A proud Australian brand, another core brand pillar of ours works to consistently look at giving back to our Australian community with key considerations to our heritage. As such, our next aligned charity is the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation which helps provide opportunity and education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, particularly in remote communities.
About The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation:
Due to resourcing and access, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still slipping through the cracks of our education system, leading to a cycle of vulnerability and illiteracy. This issue is especially prevalent in remote Indigenous communities, where many year 9 students have the writing abilities of a year 1 student living in some of our country's larger cities. Without early intervention, this problem persists into adulthood, causing up to 70% of Aboriginal adults in remote areas to be considered 'functionally illiterate'. Literacy is a key to freedom, providing people with the tools necessary to take control of their own lives, get jobs, have a voice, and stand up for their rights. A human right more than a privilege, reading and writing unlock the doors to learning and open up a world of endless possibilities. The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation is working around the clock to implement community-driven, literacy programs in both English and Indigenous First Languages in the hopes of creating and more stable, supportive education system that makes long-term changes and transforms the lives of our First Nations people.
Restoring Our Land
In partnership with Greening Australia
Our third pillar looks to track and improve our impact on the planet from which we so heavily source our metals, stones and materials. Again with a direct interest in improving our homeland, we've made a hybrid charity selection that helps us give back to our community and land, right here in Australia.
About Greening Australia:
Australia has experienced significant land clearing since European settlement, resulting in the loss of over 90 million hectares of land. This poses a severe threat to the productivity of farmlands and the existence of various species. Moreover, climate change continues to worsen the situation, leading to reduced rainfall, increased temperatures, droughts, and more frequent extreme weather events, all impacting the growth of new habitats.
To combat this, Greening Australia has taken up the task of restoring 330,000 hectares of native trees across the country by 2030. The organization is working closely with Traditional Owners, scientists, and local land managers to plant 500 million trees and shrubs that will store carbon, create quality habitats for native wildlife, and restore degraded farmland. This initiative is expected to absorb over 1.3 million Tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2030, making it one of the world's largest and most ambitious ecological restoration programs.
“As a brand, we often talk about longevity in our styling and product design,
but this is redundant if we don’t simultaneously address the longevity of our planet, people and where our products are sourced. By partnering with i=Change we’re able to directly give back.”
- Amber Hodgman, Head of Medley
Explore more about our brand efforts and initiatives towards sustainability via our About Page.