The Scrunchie Project

Young entrepreneur’s fundraiser for Reaching for Rainbows

Belleville-based entrepreneur Tina Nguyen came to the Reaching for Rainbows playroom last week to thank the girls and to explain how she started making scrunchies—an elasticized fabric band used to keep ponytails in place—by using material she cut from one of her mother’s old shirts. She was quick to point out that she had asked her mother for permission before wielding the scissors! That was in December 2019, and she was making the scrunchie as a gift to her cousin. Her cousin loved the present and told Ms. Nguyen that she should start a business making these ponytail holders. At that time, Ms. Nguyen had just completed a college course in graphic design after an unsatisfying career following her graduation with a psychology degree. She had always had a talent for drawing, and looked forward to a new career in mural design and painting. But her cousin’s comment led to a change in direction. Two weeks later, using her mother’s old sewing machine and an outlay of $500 in materials and shipping supplies, she launched her business, XXL and Company, from her cramped Toronto apartment. Initially, her customers came from her social contacts on Facebook, and her business grew organically as word of mouth (or “likes” and “shares”) spread. Within months she moved back home to her parents in Belleville and ran her business from there. Her mother helped cut the fabric, her father stapled on the labels and took deliveries to the post office. One day, the business changed dramatically. “It wasn’t until August 2020, eight months into the business, that I started posting on TikTok, and one viral video went off and our store sold out that day—and my store at the time was my parents’ front hall closet filled with scrunchies. And I was ‘Wow! I need to get back on this.’ I kept on posting more behind-the-scenes about us on TikTok and YouTube and that’s when our store started to go international,” she said. XXL and Company is now based in a warehouse in Belleville and Ms. Nguyen has nine other employees to meet the demand. She now ships internationally to 70 other countries and offers a range of products, some of which features her own artwork.

Ms. Nguyen’s link to Reaching for Rainbows came through a former board member. “I wanted to start giving back to the community, and I thought of a special line of scrunchies in colours to match the Reaching for Rainbows brand. The designs are floral, youthful and cute,” she said. She invited the girls in the program to submit names for the scrunchies, and then asked her social media followers to vote on the choices. The final list of eight includes Fruit Explosion, Blue Lagoon, and Farmer’s Plants. Last week, she visited the girls in the playroom at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Picton to thank them for their suggestions. They were very excited to meet Ms. Nguyen and peppered her with questions about her business. Each of the girls received one of the special scrunchies, as well as a key ring and stickers. Twenty per cent of the proceeds from the sale of these scrunchies will be donated to the Reaching for Rainbows program. So far more than 700 have been sold and Ms. Nguyen expects the final donation will be over $3,000.

Reaching for Rainbows is a no-cost afterschool program for girls ages six to nine. The program was started by Reverend Lynne Donovan and the Circle of Friends at St. Andrew’s as an opportunity for young girls to learn social skills in a safe and nurturing environment. “Reaching for Rainbows is a Social Service support system. It is geared towards girls who are experiencing some difficulties in their life or who need extra supports. What we are hoping to do through the power of play is to build resilience and empower girls over the four years they are here with us,” said Heidi Burgess, chair of the Reaching for Rainbows board. The program is now run independently of the church (although it is still part of the Circle of Friends) and is accredited and licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Education. There are currently 22 girls enrolled in the program. It is divided into Juniors (ages six and seven) and Seniors (ages eight and nine), and each group attends two days per week. There is a maximum of 15 for each group. The girls are referred by their schools, by community partners such as Community Living and medical services, or by their parents who have heard of the program. There are currently three paid employees: a program director, a program assistant, and an administrative assistant. The board functions as a fiduciary board, and takes on the role of fundraising. The program is funded by donations and community grants, and the board is looking to expand fundraising opportunities through sponsorships or government programs.

The Reaching for Rainbows program rents the basement space from St. Andrew’s. There are other costs as well, such as paying for snow removal so that the parking lot can be used as a safe play area in the winter. “Cleaning is also a big expense. There are Ministry requirements for a standard of cleanliness, and after Covid that really increased in terms of the type of cleaning we had to do. Insurance costs are also huge on a program like this that deals with children,” said Ms. Burgess. Providing healthy snacks for the girls is also a sizeable expense, as well as providing craft supplies. The board is open to establishing local partnerships that will help reduce some of these costs. Adult volunteers are also essential to the program. They help to take some of the load off the program director and assistant and act as a resource for the girls. “Volunteers allow the girls to build relationships with individuals other than children. It’s lovely to see them have a positive relationship with adults,” said administrative assistant Amanda Ring. She added that having someone like Ms. Nguyen come and speak to the girls was incredibly helpful. “It was amazing to watch the girls sit at the table and listen to her speak. They were part of the fundraising—they got to name the scrunchies—and you could tell that it really touched them and made them more involved.”

Community support also plays a big part in keeping the program running. A recent silent auction raised over $14,000. “A lot of local businesses were putting up experiences that they could offer, free to us, and people were bidding on them,” said Ms. Burgess. “This scrunchie donation was incredible. It was great to see Tina create the scrunchies and also see the interaction with the girls—which I think has been the strongest part—in having them see a successful female role model.” For Ms. Burgess, the program touches a personal note. She grew up in a community with very little in the way of support for single mothers. Her mother worked full time and went to school at night. “What I had to lean on was the social security net of that neighbourhood, and I went to programs like Rainbows, except it might not have been just for girls, but there was a place in my community where I felt like I was part of something bigger. And that social support at such a critical point in my life led to me being who I am today,” she said. For more information about Reaching for Rainbows, please visit reachingforrainbows.com. The special Rainbows scrunchies are available at xxlandco.com.