SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — If you are looking for a last-minute Valentine's Day gift, a local nonprofit called Home Start has a suggestion: a candle from Bright Futures.
"Know you’re doing so much more than buying a high-quality, organic candle. You’re also helping change a life," Home Start CEO Laura Tancredi-Baese told ABC 10News.
Home Start is dedicated for protecting children from abuse. One of their programs includes housing young women who are single mothers or pregnant. Five years ago, Home Start created Bright Futures as a way to give the women a job to build skills and make some money on their way to independence. “It’s sort of a two-gen issue. How do we help these deserving young mothers find a safe and a warm place to call home and for their children that they have that safety.”
Bright Futures candles are sold in the Home Start Thrift Boutique on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. The program is managed by Alexis Leftridge, who, herself, is part of the Home Start program.
“I had been homeless for about three or four years," Leftridge said. Her son was born during that time. “In the back of my mind, I’m thinking 'I don’t want to have my son on the street and people saying I’m a bad mom'. Because I'm not.”
Leftridge says her son regularly visits her at work and enjoys smelling the candles she helps design and make. “He loves being able to see me work. And I think that’s an amazing thing to see your parent working because you can show him this is what mom does. This is what I do for you.”
The jar for each hand-crafted candle is signed by the young mother who made it, helping remind customers that they are doing far more than just buying a candle.
