There’s no better time to spread some goodness around your community and Mrs. Meyer's is about to do just that here in Chicago for the first time. Mrs. Meyer's Compassion Store is a concept that bloomed after creating their Lots of Compassion initiative, which supports community gardens across the country. After three years of bringing people together in their own communities and supporting turning empty places to beautiful spaces, Mrs. Meyer's launched the Compassion Store in NYC last year. And luckily for Chicago it is finally popping up in Wicker Park for two days only, starting today, June 13 and 14.
This is a homecoming of sorts for Mrs. Meyer's efforts outside of keeping our hands and homes clean. The very first Lots of Compassion garden was planted in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. Mrs. Meyer's partnered with KidsGardening to offer grants to communities to support their community garden efforts. Their goal is to shift the negative effects of vacant spaces in communities, and allow those who live there to turn that space into something that will spread positivity, boost mental and physical health, and create safe havens of horticulture.
Mrs. Meyer's Compassion Store takes those very same garden goals and commercializes it with good vibes only. Leave your cash and cards at home because the currency at the Compassion Store is simply just that, compassion. Small acts of compassion for yourself, your community and your loved ones is the only thing you need to shop. I visited the store two days ago as a preview for what was going to be open to the public, June 13 and 14. Upon entering you are surrounded by the signature Mrs. Meyer's Compassion Flower scent and flower murals and paper sculptures. The store is bright and cheery and offers three opportunities for earning shopping currency. You can send postcards with kind messages, commit to an idea that would make your community a better place, and post a review of a local business. Each act of goodness gives you a receipt that you then exchange for Mrs. Meyer's signature hand soap, dish soap, and a potted Compassion Flower.
Mrs. Meyer's dish soap is the only reason that I enjoy washing dishes and now I’ll enjoy it even more since that soap was earned with good deeds. You too can plant your own seeds of compassion to kick off summer with a bit of good. Mrs. Meyer's Compassion Store is only open Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, from 11am to 7pm at 1814 W. Division St. in Wicker Park.
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