Our Story
How it Started
An Unexpected Gift
A year before getting married, Noel spent the summer as a camp counselor in a little Bible camp in Alaska. There, she met Ashley, one of the full-time staff members. One of the first things everyone did was share their testimonies in front of the whole staff—the summer staff, the ministry staff, the administrative staff, everyone. The full-time staff members shared their testimonies first, over the course of a few days. When Ashley and her husband shared what God had done in their lives, they included one of the most devastating trials they went through: a miscarriage. When describing this trials, though, they highlighted the faithfulness of God, rather than the sorrow and pain. Their story changed Noel's life; it just took a few years.
In May of 2024, Noel miscarried. She reached out to Ashley to seek godly wisdom from someone who had been through something similar. To show her love and support, Ashley sent a gift box.
At the same time, Noel realized she wanted to do something to help other women who miscarried. She prayed over the course of several months, trying to decide what she could do. She walked by the softball fields of her husband’s college, frustrated and discouraged about her lack of progress. Every idea she had had seemed to fall through. She instictively reached for the necklace around her neck, playing with the simple charm, contemplating grief and Christians’ responsibility to bear one another’s burdens. That little tic—playing with her necklace—was the key to SHE Blessings Co.
The necklace was from the gift that Ashley sent her. In a moment, she knew she wanted to create grief care packages that would reflect God’s goodness to the women in the middle of their sorrow. Ashley had taken the time to love Noel tangibly. She wanted to do the same for other women.
The Etsy Era
A Step in the Right Direction
After focusing in on what she would do, Noel tried to figure out how to get the gift boxes out. Etsy is a great way to start a small business, so she plunged straight in, doing tons of research and figuring out all of the logistics.
Once the shop was actually open, it got an order right away! Noel was actually still in the hospital after giving birth to her son when she packaged up the first gift box, praying over the church who bought it and the family who lost a baby. Slowly, a few more orders trickled in. Then, they came to a standstill. She went from getting twenty or more views on her shop every day to only eleven or twelve to seven to maybe one. What started out great fizzled just as quickly.
Moving to a Nonprofit
A Moment of Conviction
Even though orders weren’t coming in, Noel found herself often giving away the gift boxes—to friends, to church members, to family of friends, and the circle just kept widening. There was a need for the gift boxes, even though it wasn’t going the way she expected.
After awhile, Noel started rolling over the idea of shifting from an Etsy shop to a nonprofit. Honestly, her pride got the better of her. She had already had two failed Etsy endeavors, and she really didn’t want to give up hope for SHE Blessings Co. It was humiliating to consistently try to start little businesses, just for them to go under in less than a year.
Finally, she talked to her husband about it. She cautiously asked what he thought about SHE becoming a nonprofit instead. His face visibly relaxed, and it was that look that the Holy Spirit used to convict Noel of her pride. Her husband was way more comfortable and happy to see the gift boxes go out as true gifts, instead of a product. With his wisdom and blessing, SHE Blessings Co. started the transition into a nonprofit.
Looking Forward
A Long-Term Investment
Maybe no one has ever told you, but it is a slow process getting a business up and running. A nonprofit is still a business, just one that doesn’t make a profit for its directors or stockholders (there are no stockholders). Right now, SHE Blessings Co. is still really small. Everyone involved works really hard to keep it going, giving their own time, talents, and money to create and buy the items in the boxes, ship the boxes out, make connections with churches, and host fundraisers. We are working diligently to make the boxes more hope- and help-filled, trying our best to place this tool in as many hands as possible. We want to be a bridge between churches and grieving mothers, helping the churches know they can cross over and care for the mothers and helping the mothers know they can cross over to their churches to ask for help and be surrounded by a faithful community.
For each of us, this is a long-term investment. We might not see the fruit right away. Though we are sending boxes out, we oftentimes do not get to hear back from the mothers or the chuches. We plant in hope, praying God will provide growth. We want to see His Name be glorified and do all we can so others may enjoy Him.
If you are willing, please take time to pray about making SHE Blessings Co. a long-term investment in your own life. You can help by donating to us, by subscribing to our newletter so you can be consistenly praying for us, and by talking to your church about us. We want to make a difference in the way that God has called us to. Would you please pray about if God is calling you to this, too?