WASHINGTON, DC -- With thousands of pins, a couple from Michigan are hoping to bring a little love, compassion and support to America in time for the Women's March in Washington, D.C.
Kate Lind, 32, and Nate Stevens, 30, are behind Pincause -- a $5 pin they designed with artist Penelope Dullaghan that features the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "I love you." Their goal is to raise $200,000 by giving $2 of each sale to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood ($1 to each organization).
Since launching after Christmas, they've sold more than 7,500 pins and raised more than $15,000 for the causes. With only a week and a half until Inauguration Day and the march, the pair is pushing for a last-minute rush of orders to get to rally-goers in time.
In a conversation with Mashable Tuesday from their 500-square-foot Ann Arbor, MI apartment, which is overflowing with pin orders, Lind and Stevens said they wanted to show support for women's issues and and civil liberties.
"Something about the symbol and design is so evocative," Stevens said about the pin. "It starts conversations."
And that's what they want. When Michigan went "red" in November, the two realized they needed to understand more about their Donald Trump-voting neighbors.
The pins, Stevens said, "create more of a loving way to start conversation," rather than throwing around hate and anger.
Campaign and election pins are nothing new, but the couple wanted to design something that connected people and "something that anyone can wear no matter where they are in the country."
Lind said she wanted to create something with a colorful hand from the start. An artist friend came up with a fist, which Lind said felt not quite right. "We've seen a lot of hate spewed in every direction," but she believes "compassion and love will bring people together."
She remembered learning ASL in middle school and how perfectly succinct and effective the "I love you" sign was.
They decided to go with that symbol, and even though they weren't directly connected to the Deaf community, they've received touching feedback from people with Deaf relatives. "We have more of a connection to that community now," Stevens said.
Just a few weeks later, momentum is picking up and more people are posting pictures wearing the pins, including many shots of mothers and daughters flashing the "I love you" sign.
"It's cool to be raising money through beauty and love," Stevens said.
Start looking out for the pins -- the couple hopes they'll be worn at the main march and at rallies all over the country. They said the pins are about creating a community.
SOURCE - Mashable
