How One Elon Student Is Working to Combat Human Trafficking Through Custom Jewelry
Judge’s Charms for Changes sells fetching jewelry for an even more fetching cause. (Graphic designed by Meg Boericke)
If you want to look good and do good while supporting an Elon student, Charms for Changes could be the answer.
Charms for Changes is a jewelry company run by Elon senior Colleen Judge. Not only are the products cute and customizable, but by shopping from Charms for Changes, you are also supporting a good cause.
For every product you purchase from Charms for Changes, $1 will go to the Polaris Project, an organization that fights human trafficking in North America.
Human trafficking is an international issue, and Judge feels that the cause doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. In 2018, the Polaris Project reported 10,949 human trafficking cases in the United States alone, as indicated by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Business triple-major Judge first became passionate about this issue while doing research with Elon professor Dr. Casey DiRienzo about the economics and effects of human trafficking. “Through that, I kind of became very aware of how serious of a crime human trafficking is right now,” Judge said. “It was also obviously very clear to me too that there was a lack of awareness in general, but also on Elon’s campus.”
“From an economics perspective, the trend we’re seeing is more people are becoming trafficked, and the price of those people are going down, which is kind of weird to think about—[people] as a commodity. But, that’s how they’re being treated,” Judge said.
Judge decided to do something about it. For her senior year, Judge started her own research on human trafficking in vulnerable populations and also started a business to fight it.
9 Likes, 2 Comments - Charms for Changes (@charms4changes) on Instagram: "KEYCHAINS NOW AVAILABLE! $4 each & free with purchase of 2+ bracelets. $1 donated to combat human..."
“I was still really unsatisfied, even though I’m doing this research, because I feel like I’m not making a tangible impact on human trafficking,” Judge said. “So, that is kind of when I started to think, ‘Okay, what’s one way where I can start raising money on my own for a really important cause?’”
Judge’s business model is inspired by that of Chavez for Charity, a jewelry company for which Judge interned. Chavez for Charity donates 25 percent of proceeds to different nonprofit organizations, depending on the color of the item purchased.
“When I was thinking of something I could sell and something I could do, I had a little bit of background in the jewelry industry through that internship,” Judge explained.
The creation side is a new passion for Judge. “Making jewelry has been therapeutic for me,” she said. It has even kept her busy and productive in quarantine. She is also sending bracelets to friends who are struggling at this time “to make their day a little better,” she said.
In addition to helping a cause that she is passionate about and fulfilling her hobby, Judge has found that creating Charms for Changes has taught her a lot and given her invaluable experience as an entrepreneur.
“From a business standpoint, it’s definitely taught me the ins and outs of running your own side business, or side hustle, firsthand because there’s so many components that go into it: the finance, the marketing, the design,” she said.
Judge plans on continuing Charms for Changes after she graduates and encourages others to start their own small businesses.
“I think everyone should do it,” she said. “It teaches you a lot, whether it’s organization and communication skills, sales, finance, … things like that. If you can come up with one idea like jewelry… who knows what [the] next idea will be?”
Charms for Changes can be found on instagram @charms4changes and through Elon’s student made store.