The holiday season allows gift-givers to find things meaningful to those closest to them. This season, shoppers will be able to give back while giving away.
31 Bits is a California-based jewelry company that creates job opportunities for the women in Uganda through making jewelry. They then sell items, bring back money and hold classes to teach women how to budget their earnings and create a life for themselves and their families.
The company started while the founders, Anna Toy, Kallie Dovel, Jessie Simonson and Alli Talley, were in college after Dovel went on a trip to Uganda their junior year. They saw the jewelry the women were making, and said they knew they could make a business out of it.
The jewelry is made from recycled materials, such as magazines rolled up with a thick coating to ensure the jewelry lasts. Using a variety of colors, there are even a few pieces for the stylish LSU fan in purple and gold.
31 Bits continues to grow since it was featured in PeopleStyleWatch, Refinery29, CNN, Seventeen and Glamour. The business helps 120 women enlisted in its programs.
While the company is based out of California, it expanded its range to get involved in other states. Just by buying a piece of jewelry, you’re helping a woman create a healthy life. Now the company expands how their employees and representatives work.
College students gain real-world experience as businesses move toward more college campuses for marketing.
31 Bits has a college representative program, which is a way for students to spread the story of the company and their work.
One representative at LSU is psychology freshman Bailee Abercrombie. She heard about the company through a few friends. After buying her first bracelet, she decided it was time to get involved.
She said she applied and was accepted as a college representative after a few interviews. Abercrombie said the opportunity is offered around the nation to anyone who is passionate about the business.
“I was hooked on the philanthropy of it — just because you can buy jewelry at Wal-Mart, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Abercrombie said. “I liked how the money goes to those people, and you’re impacting someone’s life from across the world.”
Being a psychology major, Abercrombie said being a college representative doesn’t have a direct effect on her major, but it does have a connection through sociology and anthropology. While helping these women, she said she gets to learn more about their culture.
Part of the job description is selling jewelry that is sent to her from the company. She created an Instagram page specifically for 31 Bits at LSU, @31bitslsu, to inform people about new events and new jewelry lines.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Haskell Whittington

LSU Freshman psychology major Bailee Abercrombie, a 31 Bits Jewelry campus representative, displays jewelry that was made by Ugandan women to help support and build a life for themselves on Monday Nov. 9, 2015, at Highland Coffees in Baton Rouge.