Markey's Ted Talk Now Available for Streaming

Friends, family, and supporters of TWB:

It's here. 

Last year, in October, Markey delivered a Ted Talk as part of TedxGateway Arch in St. Louis.

 In her talk, Markey shared about her story in launching The Women's Bakery and also, how we can all reimagine the power of bread. 

You can view the video here. 

Watch it, share it, and spread the #breadpower. 

Slice of Hope: St. Louis, MO

On Tuesday, 90 St. Louisians gathered to celebrate this year’s success and learn more about our plans for 2018.  Every member of The Women’s Bakery family is special and on Tuesday we had the opportunity to offer our thanks to a group of individuals who have supported our work since it was a mere idea.   

Many of the attendees have known me since I was a child. Which, lucky for them (and me), a lot has changed since then – namely that I have grown into my height and wear a haircut that better suits my desired appearance now. Yet, even in my hay-day of awkward, these St. Louisians have stood by me and routed me on. And Tuesday was no exception. 90 people filled the room because they are interested in The Women’s Bakery and wanted to listen to us and learn more about our work.

It is a pleasure always to present The Women’s Bakery: to share with others why we do the work that we do. But Tuesday as particularly special because I was joined by three of my team members – three powerhouse women who have helped to build and shape The Women’s Bakery, and who shared more about our work from (mostly) their perspectives.

It was inspiring for me to watch Natalie, Heather and Meg as they presented. To listen to what they said and how they said it; to think about why they put emphasis on certain points, such as renewing their commitment to The Women’s Bakery, valuing the transference of a vocational education, and striving for even larger leaps of impact for our women in Rwanda. But it was also inspiring for me to watch their audience: The St. Louisians whom I’ve known forever were now seeing proof that The Women’s Bakery is graduating from project to a viable business concept.

I am excited for 2018. It will be a tough and an expensive year. Tough because we have undergone a major transformation this year – owning all of the bakeries we build – and expensive because this means our operating budget has now doubled because of it. But, we have chosen the pivot because we want to ensure that our mission to educate, employ and empower women remains our grounding and guiding objective. And, as this Tuesday so beautifully demonstrated, we are heartened by the rallying of our supporters who see the value in women having the opportunity to learn through us, to work with us, and to transform their own lives alongside us. 

Our Global Bakery

If you are from St. Louis, you are all-too-familiar with the two most common questions asked of those who live and work here.

First, the unavoidable socio-geographic litmus test:  

Where did you go to high school?

And, if you are working in the world of philanthropy with a mission that reaches beyond our city and county lines, the inevitable:

But why aren’t you doing this work in St. Louis, especially when we have so many problems in our own backyard?

And it’s true. St. Louis is rife with challenges that intersect the lines of race, poverty, environment, and employment. From the Delmar Divide to the Bridgeton Landfill, we have our own slew of social inequities that disproportionately affect the poor and minority populations. Why, then, would—or should— someone support a bakery in East Africa to create jobs for women (and men) who they will most likely never meet?

I, for one, believe that the answer is simple:

Because we are all people.

Yes, it is undeniable that we live in changing times; yet, despite the rise of nationalism and the backlash of globalization, our shared humanity is, and will forever be, undeniable. Whether you live in Ferguson or in the far reaches of the African bush, we are all people. Suffering is suffering. Opportunity is opportunity. And love is love—compassion bound by empathy, an unstoppable force that cannot be contained by lines on a man-made map.

Philanthropy itself means love of humanity. And this year, St. Louis proved why it is said to be one of the most philanthropic cities in the United States. You, St. Louis, love well, deeply, without border or boundary. This year, you, our friends and our neighbors, single-handedly helped us open 2 bakeries in Rwanda, training 54 women and men. You asked us the familiar questions and the hard questions, all the while listening whole-heartedly, allowing the mission of The Women’s Bakery to capture your heart and imagination.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our work possible—for helping us create jobs where they are desperately needed.

Thank you for believing in the power of people to change their own lives.

Thank you believing in the transformative power of bread.

And, perhaps most importantly, thank you for believing in us.