Profit By Imagination: Profit By Imagination

Joy Durham
Sunshine Scarves
http://sunshinescarves.com

Joy Durham is a stunning model, actress and now entrepreneur but her real “joy” is her two children, Sunshine and Jory. Spend any time at all with Joy and you quickly realize she is also passionate about making a difference in this world. Joy’s company, Sunshine Scarves was born as a result of then 5 year old Sunshine suffering a tragic accident and losing her left eye. After years of medical treatment and surgeries, Sunshine ultimately received a prosthetic eye, an extremely expensive process. A couple of years later, a nephew asked Joy to make him a scarve. Not even knowing if she could even remember how to crochet, Joy gave it a shot anyway. Once the garment was done, she asked Sunshine to try it on. Needless to say, Sunshine loved the scarve and refused to take it off.

The story does not stop there however. Believing that Sunshine’s accident and their journey into world of prosthetic eye care was a sign to help others and make a difference, Joy not only launched Sunshine Scarves with a mission to create awareness of children in need of prosthetic eye treatment but also a non profit foundation called The Sunshine Foundation to help other children without financial resources obtain the eye care they deserve.
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I was born in Mississippi and at the tender age of 6 months, my family moved to Wyoming, where I was raised for the next 17 years. After high school graduation, I came to LA for the summer, to visit my sister. During the summer, I was approached by a modeling agency and signed contracts to work in Japan, Paris, Milan & Germany. I spent the first few years working abroad and then spent the next few years in the States. I've been working full time as a model and commercial actress for 17 years and I still remain active in both areas today.

I have two lovely children, Sunshine age 10 and Jory age 8, both reside with me in Los Angeles California. About 5 years ago, my daughter, Sunshine incurred a terrible accident, resulting in the loss of her left eye. As we journeyed through 12 surgeries and years of medical treatment, we finally merged into prosthetic eye care. As with all children who loose an eye in their youth, the facial symmetry tends to shift and eventually will deform or concave in around the eye cavity, due to the missing globe. Prosthetic care is expensive and a lengthy process. Most out-of-pocket expenses range between $6,000 - $8, 000 and can take up to 3 years of treatment per child. I found many children in need of prosthetic care had no financial resources to cover this treatment and were turned away from the care they deserved.

About 3 years ago, I decided to create a 501 (c) (3) children's foundation that would help these children move into prosthetic care. The Sunshine Foundation, named after my daughter, moved into existence about the same time as my company, Sunshine's Scarves, LLC.

We use the highest quality yarns, which are imported from several European countries. Many of our yarns are unavailable to the general public and that allows us to offer something incredibly unique for our customers. We work with the finest, softest yarns available, and we pride ourselves in producing products that feel great to the touch and warm the soul. Each scarf is made-to-order, and we give our customers quite a selection of colors to choose from, over 60 colors are available to choose from our website.

The original "Sunshine Scarf" design was created in my living room, sitting atop several unpacked boxes, due to a recent move. It was just a few weeks from Christmas and my Nephew, Miller, had asked me to make him a scarf. I hadn't picked up a crochet needle in over ten years and really didn't know if I could remember what my Mamaw Durham had taught me back in high school. I couldn't read pattern books either, so I would have to go on creative skills alone. I ended up producing a miracle scarf that had quite a bit of personality and flare. I called my daughter over to try it on and after wrapping it around her neck, she refused to take it off. Barking out "This is the softest thing in my world!" I suppose it is safe to say, that I made the first 250 scarves in my living room...after I unpacked a few more boxes.

Initially, the idea was birthed through the tragic journey of my then 5-year old daughter, Sunshine. As we moved deeper and deeper into the medical world, I found that we were meant to be there, meant to feel what others feel and meant to service others, to the best of our ability. We were meant to be moved, through compassion and love for other children and parents alike, and take the appropriate steps to create something that would benefit others and educate consumers to the needs beyond purchasing a product. Sunshine's Scarves, LLC. is a beautiful introduction to a world of needy children, that live underneath the public eye. Each scarf has a hangtag that tells what we do as a company and why. Our goal was to raise money for The Sunshine Foundation and create awareness to the medical needs of these children within the consumer world. In general, people love to spend money, they love beautiful things ... so why not spend your money helping a worthy cause, purchase a product that stands for something valuable, become a part of the solution.

The best advice I've ever received was from my father, Sonny Durham. He had such a vast amount of simplistic wisdom that he applied to his life and to the lives of those who were fortunate enough to spend time with him while he lived on this earth.

He told me to seek after the things that are true, honest, and just, things that are pure, things that are lovely, things that are of good report. He said that determination; hard work, self discipline and faith all work together to mold one's life. But probably the most important ingredient is integrity, this will assure you of the respect of others and the blessings of God. After graduating high school, as I was preparing to leave home and travel abroad for the next few years, my father gave me one last bit of advice that catapulted me further than I ever thought possible. He told me that real freedom is not the right to do what we want, but the power to do what we ought.

That particular bit of advice really sunk in deep, into the core of my soul. Doing what you want to do in life is probably the easiest route to take. Serving yourself seems to be today's motto for success, or getting to the top as fast as possible, no matter the cost... But the power to do what we ought to do and what is right and true, well, that entails putting others before yourself.

All this advice whipped into one serving will satisfy your hunger for a lifetime. I can vouch for that, because I spend the majority of each day digesting it all. It was the best advice anyone could ever offer and it directly applied to my life, the lives of others, my business ventures and to society. That advice held me accountable to something greater than I. It guided me from the inside out, it directed my thoughts and intentions to be questioned at all times, to verify if I was doing what I ought, instead of what I want. Its application to business is immeasurable and should be used as the foundation to build upon. Advice like this can carry you through the frustrating times entrepreneurship brings, and it can support even the heaviest weight of failure. Advice like this is worth it's weight in gold and if you take heed, your pile of gold will be molded into the shape of a human heart.

Follow your heart, not your dreams.

Seek to find what satisfies the soul, a successful business isn't what really matters in life. A SUCCESSFUL LIFE is what truly matters and that alone will provide much more than any worldly venture can. Having everything your dreams entice you with isn't what provides true contentment and happiness. Let your heart lead you and guide you, seek out the best in life, give your best to the lives of others and when your own life is successful, your business will also flourish and shine, in the same manner that you do!
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Comments

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