2 minute read
It's Not about the Quilts; It's about the Kids
Virginia Episcopal School alumnus James Hopkins ’79 gave up a successful Wall Street career and moved to Kathmandu, Nepal. As a practicing Buddhist, Hopkins felt compelled to study at the monastery in the city, where he also serves as head fundraiser During his time in Kathmandu, Hopkins became familiar with a beggar community in the city, and noticed the women there made beautiful primitive, multi-colored quilts from fabric scraps found around the city.
As he came to know more of the women and children of the community, Hopkins wanted to help them, so he started the non-profit organization Quilts for Kids Nepal. Hopkins has brought artisans and others who work with fabrics to Kathmandu to work with the women on their craft. Hopkins markets the handiwork of these women as a vehicle to raise money to educate the community’s children. Since its inception in 2006, Quilts for Kids Nepal has provided as many as 60 kids a year with the opportunity to attend school.
Advertisement
Nancy Allen of Lynchburg, Va.—a lawyer, owner of a local yoga studio and longtime friend of Hopkins— owns several quilts and is active in supporting Quilts for Kids Nepal. To her, the quilts represent both a unique piece of art as well as a wonderful opportunity to support young children in their desire to learn and gain greater opportunities for their future. “Everyone who purchases a quilt has a hand in that,” Allen reflected. “From photographs of the children who have received support through the organization, it’s amazing to see the new range of possibilities available to them.”
Given the benefits of the program to the women and children, Hopkins is eager to grow sales of these quilts to a larger scale. Cost, distribution, sales and marketing all weigh heavily on Hopkins, but with challenges also come unique opportunities to produce creative solutions. And this is where the VES connection to Quilts for Kids Nepal begins.
Headmaster Tommy Battle re-entered the classroom this year, teaching Economics to upperclassmen. Beyond teaching the basic principles, Battle wanted to engage his class in a hands-on learning project. He had an aha! moment when he spoke with VES trustee Bill Sanford ’77 about Hopkins’ program.
“The Portrait of a VES Graduate commits us to develop and inspire curious and innovative thinkers. Giving them a real-world problem to solve where they apply what they learn about economics in the classroom is far more beneficial to their education than simply reading case studies.”
The students divided into three teams and were charged with developing distinctive strategies for meeting the challenges that Quilts for Kids Nepal faces.
The core deliverable for the class: a “Shark Tank” format presentation of their business plans delivered to VES Sharks and James Hopkins, who joined via Facetime from Kathmandu.
While the students work to marry the best of their work into a consolidated business plan, the website for sales has been built and social media and other means of promotion have begun.
As Sanford noted after the Shark Tank:
