Birdnest is a family retail business based in the small Snowy Mountains town of Cooma in southern New South Wales.
Having long dreamt of operating her own online shop from the country, founder Jane Cay first opened the boutique in 2004 after moving to the Cooma region to be with her husband, Oli.
Soon after the flagship Birdsnest boutique opened its doors, the business took off, with unprecedented online sales from the boutique driving the business’ constant expansion. Today, the highly successful flagship boutique and online store offers a range of stylish clothing to women of all shapes, sizes and ages, whilst employing over 140 local people.
With her business now flourishing, Jane is incredibly grateful for the opportunities she has been given in life and is dedicated to ensuring others are given an equal chance to succeed. “We understand how lucky we are to have the opportunity in this country to build a business and fulfilling life for ourselves and our families,” Jane says.
“We are passionate about our business doing good in the world – starting with our own employees and community and then extending to give back to causes that will help the next generation gain access to the opportunities we have had.”
School for Life Foundation is one of the not-for-profit organisations that Birdsnest so generously chooses to support through its new Books for Good initiative.
Launched in late 2020, Birdsnest’s Books for Good initiative seeks to raise funds for four not-for-profit organizations through the sale of a series of books hand-chosen by Birdsnest’s founder, Jane.
“Sharing these stories is hopefully a gift to the reader while at the same time contributing to not-for-profit foundations that are hopefully making a positive difference in the lives of others,” Jane says.
The initiative has already been met with great community support, which Jane hopes to see continue into 2021.
“The Books for Good initiative was only launched just before Christmas 2020 and our customers have jumped on board to support it. Many books sold out and we are now re-ordering and adding to the range.”
School for Life is a cause that has always been close to Jane’s heart, having attended the same school as the Foundation’s very own CEO, Annabelle Chauncy.
“….through the school I heard about the inspiring and impactful work Annabelle was doing,” Jane says.
“Our school’s ethos was in love serve one another, and Annabelle has gone on to live and breathe that value.”
In particular, however, School for Life’s mission to educate poverty out of existence with a renewed focus on girl’s education is what drew Jane to support the cause.
“Wisdom tells us that we can make headway on many of the world’s problems through more broadly available education, particularly for women,” Jane says.
“The recent launch of the School for Life Girls’ Fund and a greater understanding of how far donated dollars can go in making an impact in someone’s life ignited our commitment to support the cause.”
To date, Birdsnest’s Books for Good initiative has raised over $2,000 for School for Life Foundation.
Birdsnest will donate 100% of the sales price to School for Life’s cause when buying ‘Daily Mantras to Ignite Your Purpose’ by Lisa Messenger or ‘Dare to Lead’ by Brene Brown.
Here at School for Life, we are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Jane and the wonderful customers of Birdsnest. Their investment in the education of our students will help break cycles of poverty and enable them to achieve their wildest dreams – and for that, we cannot thank them enough.
To find out more about Birdsnest and the Books for Good initiative, please click here.
To purchase a book from the initiative and support School for Life Foundation, please click here.
