Maria Castro With Love Purse

Intro: [00:00:03] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Chicago, Illinois. It’s time for Chicago Business Radio. Brought to you by firm space, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to firmspace.com. Now here’s your host.

Max Kantor: [00:00:21] Hey, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Kantor. And before we get started, as always, today’s show is sponsored by firm SpaceX, thanks to firm Space, because without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. And we’ve got a really good one for you today. On today’s episode, we have the founder and CEO of Inspiration of Love Purse. So please welcome Maria Castro. Welcome to the show, Maria.

Maria Castro: [00:00:46] Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me.

Max Kantor: [00:00:49] I’m excited to talk to you and learn all about Love Purse. So let’s jump right in. What is Love purse? How to get started.

Maria Castro: [00:00:56] Oh, my gosh. So Love Purse is actually a mission that I say helps us to put love on the shoulders of women in need, one love purse at a time. And back during the pandemic last year, in March of 2021, I was speaking to a person who probably is so very well known here in Chicago, Nellie Vasquez, Roland, who is the founder of A Safe Haven in Chicago, which is a homeless shelter. And she mentioned to me a need that they had and basically just said, you know, we could really use some help and gathering some toiletries for the women, especially, that were coming in in droves because they were being locked down with their abusers and they had lost jobs in the service industry and so on and so forth. And so I just basically said, go ahead, send me the list and I will do the best that I can to get some stuff for you. But let me figure out how I can reach out to my enormous network of people that I know. And hence, here we are today in 2022, and we are surpassing 7000 purses filled with toiletries for women, not just here in Illinois, but around the world, actually.

Max Kantor: [00:02:12] Wow. So something that I find interesting about it is obviously you can put toiletries in so many different things, but you decide on the purse. Why did you pick purses?

Maria Castro: [00:02:22] Well, that’s a great question. So a purse is not just a purse. And I say that because all of us women who have for so many years carried the same purse perhaps. And in there you have everything from your kids trinkets that they’ve made you from school to pictures of your parents or grandparents or grandkids. In the case of my mother, who always has a rosary in her purse to pray for someone, it’s very special to us. And when you have to leave in the middle of the night, you know, because of danger and you walk out with nothing but the shirt on your back, you lose that and you don’t have that. So this really signifies you have that back, you have hope again. You have the faith in people again versus just running out and not having anything. Now you have it filled with all the toiletries that you don’t have to share with somebody that you can actually have as your own again, so that you can start that all over again and gather those trinkets and gather those pictures and what have you. It signifies so much more than just fashion.

Max Kantor: [00:03:31] So you’ve mentioned toiletries a couple of times. What types of toiletries are best for a love purse? Purse.

Maria Castro: [00:03:39] Okay. So my question to Nelly when this happened was send me a list of what each person needs when they arrive at your shelter. And that was everything from shampoo full-size mind you, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, feminine hygiene products, slippers for the shower, a washcloth. I mean, all the things that they need, the moment that they enter that shelter that they need to have for themselves. Because because of CDC guidelines, you can no longer share those. And so it’s vital to a person, not just a woman, but a child or husband, whatever. It’s vital to have those pieces of toiletries that you need when you walk into that particular shelter. And so that is one of the most essential parts. But the most important part is the note of inspiration that we absolutely, positively have to have in each purse. And that is just a written note to the woman telling her that she matters, that she is somebody that she’s loved and she’s thought of and she’s paid for by the person gifting that purse to her.

Max Kantor: [00:04:52] I love that you guys do that. When I read that on your website, it’s so special. I mean, just giving a purse, it’s. Giving, you know, these these women, it’s almost like it becomes a part of their personality. It gives them something to represent them. And then when you give that personalized note, it’s just that extra touch. So when you were developing the idea for Love Purse, how did the idea for the note of inspiration come about and why do you feel it’s so important to include that?

Maria Castro: [00:05:20] Thank you for asking that, Max. So the day that I went out and bought like seven of everything that was requested from Nelly, I thought to myself, I watch all these purses. I rather I watched all these bags filled with things. And I thought to myself, I can’t give somebody who already feels down on their luck and feeling like they’ve been really beaten down, like just this plastic bag. It made no sense to me. I thought if that was me, I wouldn’t want it to come in a plastic bag. So I thought about that for a few seconds and I said, What if I go on to Amazon and I find some really nice size purses that can fit all of these full sized toiletries in them? And I did. I went to Amazon and I bought all these purses and I was filling them up. And as I filled them off, I thought to myself, what an inspiration this will be to somebody on the receiving end. However, what if I added a note just letting them know that they matter, that they’re beautiful, that this too shall pass one day? And I thought, I’ll do that. And so I wrote all the notes I throw through it, all of the bags, all of the purses. And I thought, Wow, I was so excited about it. And I felt my love personally going into each and every single purse I was feeling. And I said to my husband, I go, You know what? This is a love purse. This is filled with love from me to the person who I may never meet in my lifetime, but nonetheless it is filled with my love. It’s a love purse. So I ran to my local printer, asked him to make a T-shirt that said Hashtag love purse on it so that I could put it out on social media and hopefully get people to realize the importance of this. And certainly, you know, that this was a need that we needed to feel as women empowering women. And so I did. And honestly, I had no idea what would happen after that.

Max Kantor: [00:07:29] Totally. So you guys, you started in Chicago. How did you start expanding to other cities and like you said, around the world?

Maria Castro: [00:07:37] Well, and that’s because of the unbelievable social media that we have today. Right. So I’m over 60 and I’m not technically savvy whatsoever, I can tell you right now. But when I started posting it and putting it on LinkedIn and on Twitter and on Instagram and Facebook, I started getting all of these people responding and saying, Oh my God, I just saw this. Oh my God, my friend posted this. Oh my God, my friend donated a purse. And I started getting inquiries from Canada, from Mexico, you know, from Tennessee, from Texas. I mean, it was amazing. And they were saying, we love this, we love this. How can we be a part of this movement? And I thought, well, you just have to collect some purses and toiletries and tell me what shelter in your local market needs to be helped. I would look them up to make sure that they were a 563 in good standing. And if they were, which all of them were, I would say, wonderful, let’s go for it. And then they would in turn act as an angel ambassador in that particular city or country and start passing out these purses to women in need.

Max Kantor: [00:08:58] Gotcha. Well, that was going to be my next question is asking what an angel ambassador is. And I love that term because you know what you all are doing. You know you’re doing the work of angels. So it’s the perfect name.

Maria Castro: [00:09:11] Oh, my God. You know what? This would not be 7000 purses plus today had it not been for the angels that I have out there. And I had to call them that because that’s what they are. They hold that title so proudly and they have helped me so much to get the word out, to get purses in that particular country or city and just have been like, how what else can we do to help you is basically the question, not how can we help you, but what else can we do? And I think that when you put something out there in the universe that is so universal to somebody that is in need, it just becomes kind of it gets a life of its own, really. And I could not do this work with. Out the village of people that are helping me.

Max Kantor: [00:10:01] Now, you all have your inaugural gala coming up. Tell me a little bit about that.

Maria Castro: [00:10:06] Oh, my gosh, Max, if I could just scream from the mountaintops, I would. So October six, it’s a Thursday evening at this beautiful mansion in Elmhurst that we found that has a brick road leading to the entrance. We are hosting our first inaugural event, which is called There’s No Place Like Home because there really is not. And the theme is The Wizard of Oz. And so the yellow brick road that will lead to this entrance and the doors open. And you have everybody there from Dorothy to the scarecrow to the Good Witch and the Bad Witch, and it is just going to be a magical night. And we do have a amazing keynote speaker who is a man, former Super Bowl champion who has gone through domestic violence with his own mother. Dennis McKinnon, he will be speaking as our keynote speaker and be really re speaking on behalf of men who have gone through this trauma themselves with their own mothers. And so I think that the night will be not only magical, but it will just be so profound to hear it from somebody who is like a well known Super Bowl champ that he, too, had gone through this with his own mother.

Max Kantor: [00:11:24] Yeah, well, it sounds like an incredible event to get everyone together and talk about this common goal that you all stand for. So for people who are interested in learning more about the gala or attending it, how can they learn more?

Maria Castro: [00:11:37] Oh, my gosh. So w w w dot love dot org. We absolutely would just love for anybody and everybody who’s listening to come and support us. The need is so great, Max. I wish that I had enough to go around, but I don’t. And so my goal is to certainly surpass 50,000 this year, although we’re only at 10,000. But I really want to help anybody and everybody out there, whether it’s human trafficking, homelessness or domestic violence. We hear you. We see you. And we want to make sure that somehow or another we help you. And so for those who can’t make it to our gala, donating $5, $20, $100, it doesn’t matter, because all of that goes to the mission. I keep nothing from that. Everything that I get, I put toward buying more purses, buying more toiletries, and just really getting the word out to make sure that we help women in need.

Max Kantor: [00:12:36] Now, Maria, I ask every guest who comes on Chicago Business Radio this question, and I can anticipate what your answer will be, but I’m eager to hear it for you. What is the most rewarding part of what you do?

Maria Castro: [00:12:51] Oh, my gosh. Well, I have to say that it’s the women on the receiving end that I hear stories from now. You have to understand that when a woman is in a trafficking shelter or a domestic violence shelter, it’s very private. So I don’t get to meet them face to face. But I hear the stories from the executive directors or the CEOs from the organizations that tell me on a regular basis what the effect is on these women. And that is that they feel hope again, that they feel that somebody cared, that somebody loved them that didn’t even know them and is sending them this love and this purse. And so when I think about all the women that we’ve helped and we’ve helped more than 7000 today, in one year, I think to myself, I got this like my board and I my angel investors, we got this. So if anybody ever has a doubt that if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, then they have no idea. Because that is so true. The mom is the one that holds the family together. And when she is in despair and she is in need, when she receives something that kind of gives her an indication that things will be okay, then she’s okay. And we have to make sure that we understand that because I have seen a few of them. And when their children see how happy the moms are to open these purses, to read the notes, to smell the, you know, the shampoo and conditioners and different things, they’re so excited for their moms because they see their moms happy again. And I think that we have to realize that again if mama happy and nobody happy in that house. So I’m just ecstatic that it has gotten to the point where it has. But again, I’m very grateful to my board of directors, to my sponsors, to the people who have stepped up and said, I want to help.

Max Kantor: [00:14:49] So if any of our listeners are interested in either donating purses or buying purses for love, purse or toiletries or anything like that, how can they get involved?

Maria Castro: [00:14:59] Oh my gosh. So our website has everything on there. We love dot org. It has all the toiletries needed for each and every individual purse. It has a link where they can go and buy purses under $20, which is what we request. Really, everything is on there. All they have to do is just check on it and they can always email me at Maria at Luv dot org and I’m happy to respond to anybody that reaches out.

Max Kantor: [00:15:24] Well, Maria, it’s been such a joy to talk to you. I mean, you’re doing amazing work in the community. You have such a big heart and just honestly, it’s been such a pleasure getting to interview today on Chicago Business Radio.

Maria Castro: [00:15:36] Thank you so much, Max. I appreciate the opportunity. And hopefully people will hear it. They’ll realize the need and they’ll reach out.

Max Kantor: [00:15:43] Absolutely. And thanks to you for listening to another episode of Chicago Business Radio. I’m your host, Max Kanter, and we’ll see you next time.

Intro: [00:15:53] This episode of Chicago Business Radio has been brought to you by farm space, your private sanctuary for productivity and growth. To learn more, go to firmspace.com.