Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency’s impact on me, my family, and NorthStar Luxe is indescribable. Their financial investment was more than an investment—they believed in me and Lisa. Because of the oversized impact that Wayne Metro has had on our business and our family, we want to partner with them for Giving Tuesday.
NorthStar Luxe will be donating 50% of all proceeds from our sales on Tuesday, December 1st to Wayne Metro to help them continue their mission. Besides their financial savings programs, Wayne Metro also impacts the community in other ways by:
· Distributing more than $44M in federal Coronavirus relief this year
· Providing food and hygiene supplies to those in need
· Restoring access to clean water
· Assisting with eviction prevention and helping pay utility bills
· Aiding families with burial costs during the global health pandemic
MAKING LIFE PLANS
And that’s how I discovered an incredible non-profit agency. Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency administers special savings accounts called IDA (Individual Development Accounts). Many states offer IDA’s with various matching and incentive programs to help qualifying residents who want reach certain eligible financial goals. Wayne Metro’s programs include:
· First-time homebuyer down payment assistance
· Tuition for an accredited school
· Small business start-up/expansion
To be eligible, participants must:
· Save a monthly minimum
· Complete Wayne Metro’s money management workshops and training programs
· Meet regularly with a Wayne Metro budget/housing coach
When I got started with Wayne Metro, I planned to use IDA funds to purchase my first home, but life had different plans. The knowledge and skills that I learned from working with Wayne Metro resulted in reaching my financial goals and purchasing our dream home using a traditional mortgage—not the IDA.
CHANGING LIFE PLANS
But my financial coach did not want to see all of my hard work go to waste. We started exploring others ways to apply the IDA savings and matching funds towards another goal—investing in our small business. And so NorthStar Luxe's first investor was Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency. In early 2019, Lisa and I were presented with funds that we used to manufacture the debut product in our skincare line—Polaris Cream.
CREATING A SKINCARE CREAM
While experimenting with different ingredients, we tried adding CBD isolate and fell in love! CBD isolate helped us accomplish many of our skincare goals—highly moisturizing, anti-aging, vegan, and sourced in the US. After months of working with various chemists and manufacturers, the skincare product we started mixing in our kitchen became the finalized formula now known as Polaris Cream.
We couldn’t be where we are today without the support, assistance, and guidance of Wayne Metro. Thank you for helping NorthStar succeed!