Today we’d like to introduce you to Jami Schaer and Laura Wood.
Fox and Trove began in November 2016, when Jami heard that bullying was happening in Kindergarten. Jami couldn’t believe this was happening at such a young age. She was saddened to think her own 4 year old would soon be in this world where kids are bullied as young as kindergarten and first grade. They never had to worry about such things when they were that little. Jami knew she had to do something so she began designing graphic tees with positive messages. Her statement tees “kindness is the coolest”, “you can sit with us” and “my heart is beautiful” were an instant hit. But she knew tshirts wouldn’t be enough. She had to find a way to actually teach kids how to be kind and brave before the negative traits that lead to bullying take shape. Here, the idea for preschool and kindergarten assemblies, a full kindness curriculum and a summer kindness camp called Camp Kind was born. Every time Jami pictured herself doing an assembly, she always pictured Laura right next to her. Not yet friends but with friends in common, Jami admired Laura as a mom and asked her to join Fox and Trove as a partner. Together, they have not only developed a great friendship, but have become social entrepreneurs, quickly building a nonprofit and a movement that empowers children, parents, educators and entire communities.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth sailing is not for us. Where is the fun in that!!
There have been many challenges and obstacles for us. Balance is something I think all working parents struggle with. When we started, we were stay at home moms with preschoolers so the time we had to work was very limited, but we had BIG plans. Finding the time to work as much as we wanted to was a struggle. We had to take a step back many times and let Fox and Trove go slower than we wanted, because we wanted to be there for our children and husbands.
Another struggle has been financial. Our ultimate goal is to provide free kindness education to all children for free. As a nonprofit, we reply on donations, sponsorships and partnerships with big businesses and brands to make this happen. Unfortunately, when you own a young nonprofit, it can be hard to get in front of these people and share your mission and plans.
Despite these challenges and obstacles, what keeps us going is our passion to make real change.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Fox and Trove is on a missionto empower kids to be World Changers by teaching them how to be kind and brave. The bullying prevention company has a comprehensive program for 3-6 yr. olds offering kindness assembly programs, a school curriculum called ‘World Changers in the Classroom’, a summer camp program and Kind and Brave graphic tees for all ages.
Research shows the single most effective way to stop bullying is to prevent it before it even has a chance to start by teaching kids during the formative years of 3 and 6 how to be kind. Fox and Trove go one step further and teach bravery along with kindness because kids who stand up for themselves and others effectively are significantly less likely to be a target of bullying and more resilient to its effects. Not only are kind and brave kids statistically less likely to be involved in bullying, they are also far happier, healthier mentally and physically and more likely to grow into happier, healthier adults.
Using age-appropriate teaching methods and activities we introduce the concepts of empathy, emotion regulation, positive language, conflict resolution and pro-social behavior. We encourage and foster positive connections with peers and teach self-calming and mindfulness techniques which enable children to be more available to learn and ready to engage in the classroom and at home.
What were you like growing up?
Jami Schaer: Growing up I was happy and outgoing and loved being the life of the party. I was a “girl power” kind of girl before it was cool and had activist tendencies. I was involved in sports, especially dance and poms, and I had a vivid imagination and loved creative play. My older sister has Mowat Wilson Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, and because of her, I developed a deep level of empathy for others early on in my childhood. In fact, I often felt like I was too sensitive and needed to “toughen up” but never really knew how to do so. I was ambitious and motivated from an early age but not necessarily in school. My mind worked differently than my peers and because of this, I struggled with math. It wasn’t until I got to college that I felt a strong academic drive because I had the opportunity to take classes that appealed to me like history, communications, debate, and Indonesian as a foreign language. These traits, interests, and experiences shaped me into who I am today, which is one reason I’m inspired to help kids find their voice and be empowered to make a difference.
Laura Wood: Coming from a large family, I loved to be around people even though I was very shy. Family holidays were my favorite time of year – we would all spend time together celebrating and catching up. There was, and still is, a lot of love within my family and that helped me become the person I am today. I played a lot of school sports and spent a lot of time socializing with friends. Some of my closest friends today are friends I have had since I was 2 years old. I remember my parents instilling a sense of gratitude for everything we had. They taught us about people less fortunate than us and people who were different than us and that how every single person should be accepted and respected.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.FoxandTrove.com
- Phone: 847-989-8889
- Email: hello@foxandtrove.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/foxandtrove/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoxandTrove/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/foxandtrove
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