Upset and Unable to Find Party Supplies For Kids of Color, This Mom Made Her Own

Lynnette Abbott is an event planner, blogger, and mom who felt disappointed by the lack of options for children's party supplies. Though party themes and decorations have progressed in creativity, she felt as though they didn't represent a diverse range of children — especially children of color. That's when she decided to go ahead and solve the problem herself.

Using Kickstarter, the Craft My Occasion blogger launched a campaign to fund her line of party supplies for children of color. On the campaign page, Lynnette explained, "As a mom, and a woman of color, it has been challenging for me to find party supplies that represent my family. Once I became an event planner, I realized that other women of color also struggled with the lack of options for their children."

Lynnette feels that representation in this area is incredibly important in that it gives children "positive images that they can relate to," adding, "Our party supplies are tools that will be used to help develop a self-image of value and love."

For several reasons, Lynnette chose a beautiful mermaid as her first design. She explained that she had been unable to find decorations depicting a mermaid of color anywhere. It was also important to Lynnette that this mermaid had "full lips, beautiful brown eyes and big hair." As for her purple tail, Lynnette said the color symbolizes prosperity and royalty.

At press time, Lynnette's Kickstarter campaign has received nearly $2,000 of its $20,000 goal. That being said, it is a fairly new campaign and has nearly a month left to continue raising the necessary funds.