Inspired by the idea of a charity box becoming a permanent fixture in homes and business, Carrol Boyes has created a unique centrepiece.
Aptly named the ARK (Acts of Random Kindness), this limited-edition handcrafted ARK gives companies or homes the opportunity to start every meeting or meal on a kind note by having all attendees place a coin inside the ARK at the start. Once the ARK is full, the money can be given to a charity of your choice, as stated on every insert that goes with the designer moneybox.
Carrol Boyes Australia managing director, Caryn Hanley, says the actual idea came from Rabbi David Minster, who heads a program called Miracle Drive in South Africa.
“He strongly believes that we all have the power to make the world a better place, one action at a time. When launching the ARK program, he said ‘We don’t have to agree on everything, but we can agree that we all want a world filled with goodness and kindness. And we have the power to make this happen simply by creating our own positive momentum’.
“For Rabbi Minster, the ARK has less to do with fundraising and money than it does with promoting simple and random acts of kindness. We all know stories of people who have had the course of their lives altered by one such act. The more people there are in the world ‘paying it forward’, the greater the ability to affect this kind of change. Apart from being a great acronym (for Random Acts of Kindness), the ARK also symbolises hope floating in a turbulent time,” she adds.
Proceeds from the sale of each of these ARKs go directly to Miracle Drive, and it is up to the individual home or business to decide how the contents get used when the ARK is full. To date it has only been made available in South Africa and Australia, simply because the response to the campaign and the demand for ARKs has been so overwhelming, says Hanley.
Miei Fiori, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit florist and gifting company established to combat poverty, is the first Australian organisation to participate in the ARK project.
Miei Fiori founders Rob and Lyly Greca wanted the charity or organisation benefiting from these proceeds to be aligned with their own values and have settled on The Big Issue as the sole benefactor. Recently their first ARK was emptied with all money given to the charity.
“One of the things I love most about being part of Carrol Boyes is the company’s focus on social upliftment and empowerment,” says Hanley.
“Any business is welcome to participate. The more people involved, the bigger the difference we can all make. Miei Fiori was a natural choice for us to kick off with as everything they do is aimed at making the world better. They only sell sustainable and ethically sourced products, operate with a zero waste policy and donate 100 per cent of their profit to the Smith Family. The ethos of their business aligned so beautifully with the purpose behind the ARK that it felt like the right starting point.
“It is all about being part of something positive and making a difference wherever we can.”
