Save NorCal's first eco friendly refill shop!

Hi, my name is Sarah. I have been proudly serving the community through Gaia Soap Supply since it was purchased in 2020 and the original S.O.A.P. shop (Gaia's predecessor) since 2018. I am a member of the Nevada City and Grass Valley communities with a passion for the planet and for people. My purpose is to serve people and the planet in the form of healing through Ayurvedic and Vedic wellness remedies, and aid in the reduction of harmful toxicants that are used in cleaning and household products. Inspired by my mother, who taught me to reuse, reduce and recycle from a young age, it is part of my path to help the planet as much as I can before leaving this Earth to our children and grandchildren. However, in the past year, I have taken on three jobs to support my family in these tough economic times. Given this opportunity, I would be able to maintain just one job with hours that are conducive to raising a family-my current other shifts keep me until late evening, and by the time I get home, my 2-year-old is usually, already asleep. I would love to be in the position to see my child for more than a couple of hours in the morning time. Lately, I have noticed how he has passed some growth milestones that I have not been able to witness. I also have two teenagers that are growing up so fast. They too have events that I don't get to witness because of the hours I am scheduled for. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful to have three jobs that can help support my family, but I am not serving my purpose in life with these positions, and becoming the owner of this shop would allow me to keep more family-oriented hours, give purpose and meaning to my path, and maintain a vital heartbeat of our community: Northern California's first eco-friendly refill shop.

The shop I represent offers waste-free refills of household and commercial products that are safe for the environment, safe for your body, and safe for your septic. Our other growing repertoire is our house-made formulations of topical remedies and solutions for our customers who aim to improve the quality of their health and beauty products and who are moving away from ingesting chemicals and toxicants through their skin. We provide skincare and beauty ingredients to novice formulators who are small batch-oriented and require semi-bulk ingredients. We serve holistic medical practitioners who require customized herbal preparations for their practice, customers who have been through traumatic disease and see that our products offer safe and effective remedial management, and finally, we serve local businesses who are steering away from pollutants and are gearing into environmentally friendly replacements for janitorial supplies and core products that serve their business needs (hand soaps, cleaners, laundry detergents etc.). We serve the mainstream populace that is waking up and reacting to the extreme toxicity of the products that are available on the mass market. We are the one-stop shop for the county’s environmentally friendly products for home and self-care.

However, we need your help to save the shop. The current owner must step away, and it's time for a new, dedicated person to take his place. That is me! Between the rise and fall of the pandemic, the economy (local and national), his family's needs, and having another business to manage, he can no longer keep the shop open. While he loves the shop and wants to see it flourish, he does not have the time to dedicate to supporting the shop's needs. I am willing to take on the role of running the shop, continuing its current offers, and growing it to include an herbal apothecary with an Ayurvedic foundation. As inspired and motivated as I am, I currently do not have any resources for traditional or private funding. I have explored several different avenues of loans to no avail. This is why I am reaching out to our community for help. I have a strong passion for the planet and our community and am calling out to any and all who can donate.

This fundraiser will secure the purchase of the shop and support a growth strategy in offering our wisdom and expertise to the community. Time is extremely limited, as the shop will close by April 21. If we cannot secure the funding for the purchase of the shop, the shop will be no more. Along with building a viable herbal apothecary, funds you help provide will also help with holding classes and educating people on living healthy lifestyles and choosing products that support well-being and the planet. I want to inspire you and our community to make small changes that have a meaningful impact.

I have a deep passion for keeping the Earth as healthy as we can, and with 8 billion people on the planet, we all must do our share. Maintaining this business in our community can be my contribution to helping reduce plastic waste and to continue to offer holistic remedies to our community. Worldwide, over 500 billion plastic containers are consumed every year. The original S.O.A.P. was inspired by the need to help reduce plastic waste and save empty containers from going into our oceans and creating more havoc for the Earth. I intend to keep that vision going. I want our community to be a part of the solution by doing what we can.

Because GoFundME allows no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions in exchange for any donations made to your GoFundMe, there will be information about memberships available

I am grateful beyond words for all of you who have taken the time to read my story, and will be continually grateful for years to come to those of you who choose to donate now. If you support my vision and also love helping the planet, but cannot donate at this time, please SHARE my vision with your groups of like-minded individuals. Together, we can make this community thrive to reduce plastic waste and do our part in supporting whole, organic ingredients in favor of chemical alternatives. We only have one Earth, cheers to doing our part in creating bio-sustainable businesses!

UPDATE: You guys have truly come together to show your care, effort, and backing for Gaia Soap Supply. I am astounded by the love and support. So far, we have communally raised $7,025! Fantastic! Although the shop space has been closed for now, with a few more donations, we will be able to reopen.

I am keeping the fundraiser going for those who still wish to participate. We only need a few thousand more to keep the doors open. Every little bit helps, truly!

Any donations after that will go to one of two phases of growth. The primary agenda is to keep inventory in the shop for the first few months. Secondarily, donations will go to improve our offerings. We will always continue to offer all the same wholesome, organic topical skincare and remedial options we have been, but strive to include an herbal apothecary that has an Ayurvedic foundation.

Remedies should meet the needs of an individual based on their current state of exigency. This is the tenant of Ayurvedic care and the most useful tool I have assessed from working with patients for the past 15 years. Within the configuration of our retail space, I have a clear vision of how to bring the comunity remedies that meet their individual needs, to fruition: we just need funding and time. Now that we are one (HUGE) step closer to securing the time and space from all the previous donations, the current donations will go to these two components of growth.

Thank you to all who have donated, and to all who will donate. My promise is to work hard so that we still have the unrivaled, great-smelling refillery we all love walking into. Thank you, and thank you some more. Can't wait to be of service to you in the shop.