On January 23, 2019, Lindsay Tarr came in to the Malicious Women Candle Co hoping to find a gift for her Federal Employee friend who was currently on furlough. Lindsay asked if we had a Government Shutdown candle and I said “No…but we should!” Lindsay & The MWCC Crew immediately had a meeting of the minds and came up with this candle label. Our hope was that this one candle would bring a smile to the face of Lindsay Tarr’s friend.

After Lindsay left, we continued to talk about this label and how pissed off we were that our Federal employees were facing hunger & poverty because our government (both sides) could not get over their pettiness and agree on a budget. Our elected officials were not representing the interests of the Americans that serve our great nation daily.  We knew we had to do something. And something we did. The Malicious Women put the candle into production with the promise of donating 100% of the proceeds to the food banks in the hardest hit areas. Within the first 4 hours our FB post had been shared 94 times! When I woke up the next morning, the post had reached 136,640 people organically, as FB denied my boost the first time. 48 hours later the post had 1.4K Likes and currently sits at 2.2K shares. The comments of support and those of severe need and impact affected me deeply.

Based on the comments, we decided to start a “Send a Candle to a Furloughed Federal Employee” project. We were able to match all requests through generous online donations and in-store purchases. We lined our checkout counter with post it notes and a brief description of their story and our Lake Stevens, WA residents rallied to purchase candles and fill the need. Most of our Lake Stevens customers came in to only buy a candle for donation. My favorite purchases come from one Lake Stevens woman and one online purchase from a woman in Everett, WA who each purchased 5 candles to donate. Lindsay Tarr- remember her? The candle label creator, came back right after those women left and handed us more cash to donate. That’s when the tears hit all the Malicious Women.

Unfortunately, we are no longer able to offer the donation program, as we have covered the cost of shipping these candles out of our own pocket. If we continue to cover the shipping, we will be shut down too.

As of Jan 26, 2019 8:00PM PST we have raised $4104.00 for food banks and Federal Employee Service Centers across the country. We involved the Malicious Tribe (FB Followers) for suggestions of where we should donate, and sadly we were flooded with suggestions. So many cities across the country are feeling the impact as more Federal Employees are reaching out for services. As a small-town small business ourselves, we are not able to continue to donate 100% of the proceeds or we will not be able to afford to replace the candles we have donated or even make payroll for that matter. To continue to offer this candle and support Federal Employees, going forward, Malicious Women Candle Co promises to donate 15% of the total sales of this candle to food banks and programs across the country through 2019.  I will continue to post updates to this fundraising effort on our Malicious Women Candle Co FB page.

Again- We sincerely thank each and every one of our tribe members who have purchased a Government Shutdown 2019 candle. We are humbled by your generosity and hope to make you all proud with the programs we support.

Stay Malicious,

Lacie

Malicious Women Candle Co

Owner

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 USO Northwest                                          Seattle, WA                                   $1000

https://northwest.uso.org/

Supports 6 locations In WA State : Direct support to US Cost Guard Families with Gift Cards for essentials.        

US Coast guard Enlisted Association        Kodiak, Alaska                                $1000                

https://cgeakodiak.org/

Largest US Coast Guard Base in the world.

Feeding Tampa Bay                                   Tampa Bay,  Florida                $500    

https://feedingtampabay.org/

Feeding the TSA and all Federal Workers during the Government Shutdown 2019.

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank                       Verona, VA                                    $515

https://www.brafb.org/

Serving 25 Counties and 8 cities in Virginia.  Directly supporting Federal workers during the shutdown. 

World Central Kitchen #chefsforfeds       Washington DC                            $500

https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org

World Central Kitchen has opened a kitchen and cafe in Washington, DC to serve federal employees in need at 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW (near the US Navy Memorial). They are now bringing the effort nationwide through a series of partner chefs, restaurants and food trucks.         

 Lake Stevens Food Bank                            Lake Stevens, WA                   $589.00        

Established in 1978, Lake Stevens Community Food Bank partners with about 100 volunteers to serve healthy and fresh meals to families each week. Donations to this fund provides for food items, rent payments, utilities costs and other day-to-day expenses within the food bank. 

Lake Stevens, WA is the Hometown of Malicious Women Candle Co, which is also heavily populated with Federal workers including the Dept of Agriculture, Dept Treasury and many more.