Innovator. Humanitarian. Thought leader. Theresa Carrington is interested in helping women help themselves. She is changing the world, having recognized the tipping point from poverty to prosperity for women living in developing countries.
Her latest book, When Cows Eat Flowers, is a simple book to help moms in the developed world. This wonderfully illustrated book is a sweet, simple, yet powerful tool, for moms to raise great kids.
What started as one woman's vision to create a sustainable solution that reduces poverty in developing countries evolved into The Blessing Basket Project - which has helped alleviate financial burdens in the lives of more than thousands of moms around the world in the last decade. Theresa Carrington, founder, and CEO of TenbyThree®, recognized that the key to helping people emerge from impoverished to financially independent is igniting their entrepreneurial spirit by providing them a launching pad. This is when the world changes.
Theresa's vision launched the Blessing Basket's innovative approach and allowed her to actually identify the tipping point from poverty to prosperity. The Project's patent-pending financial model enables Artisans to earn Prosperity Wages®, which are significantly higher than fair trade wages, for their products. In some instances, the wages could differ as dramatically as $12 compared to $1 for the same basket. In this model, the Artisans are paid directly, eliminating the middleman, and are encouraged to start businesses funded by earnings from their basket sales -- and it is those entrepreneurial ventures that empower the Artisans to lift themselves out of poverty. Learn more when you visit here: blessingbasket.org
Today with a small staff, a strong team of volunteers, and partnerships with companies like Whole Foods Market®, Disney, and Room and Board. TenbyThree works with almost 3,000 Artisans across seven countries including Ghana, Uganda, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Togo, and Kenya. By selling their products to more than 270 retail locations nationwide, The Blessing Basket Project® has already paid the US currency equivalent of more than $5.5 million to the Artisans it serves. Now, more than 15 years later, villages that were destitute are prospering.
The birth of Ten by Three (formerly The Blessing Basket Project)
In 2002, when facing opposition in her own personal life, Theresa was inspired by the incredible support provided by her friends and family. They sent her notes, cards, and pictures for encouragement, which she kept in her own "Blessing Basket" that she would turn to for daily reinforcement.
To motivate other women, Theresa began speaking at conferences and organizations, using her "Blessing Basket" as a prop. Soon after, women started to request their own "Blessing Basket." Enthused by this interest, Theresa sought a way to curate a deeper connection with the maker of the baskets and the recipient, while simultaneously blessing maker and recipient. Further, she wanted to ensure that the makers of the baskets would be compensated properly, without having to cede the majority of the profits to a middleman.
Finding a direct path to impoverished Artisans around the world took more than a year, but by the summer of 2003, the first major shipment of Blessing Baskets arrived and the Project was on its way. Theresa continues to pay it forward every day by giving the women of the TenbyThree hope and the opportunity to make a better life for themselves.
The results achieved by TenbyThree® have been the subject of several studies by some of the nation's top universities. The organization leads in the use of innovative technologies, including its patent pending Artisan&You® technology.
Theresa has been honored as one of St. Louis's Most Influential Women; Humanitarian of the Year by Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville; and YWCA Non Profit Leader for her opinion leading perspective and unique approach to poverty reduction. TenbyThree is also the first and only nonprofit to win the Olin Cup business competition at Washington University.
Prior to founding TenbyThree Theresa was a journalist who achieved numerous honors, including 13 Emmy awards, over the course of her 20+ year career. Theresa now applies her journalism skills in sharing the stories of determination, inspiration and joy of TenbyThree Artisans from around the world - all while reminding us how one person can truly change the world.
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