Get Involved Other Ways to Give Corporate Partnerships Corporate Support Corporate partners support our events, help us speak louder about our campaigns, fundraise for us, and make financial donations and gifts-in-kind. As well as helping to transform the lives of some of the poorest people in Afghanistan, becoming a corporate partner could be good for business too. Raise your profile with new audiences whilst demonstrating good corporate citizenship; Motivate and engage your staff through events and volunteering; Have fun while making a difference. We are always on the look-out for new corporate supporters. To find out more about what we could do together, get in touch with Kate on 020 3559 6647 or email [email protected]. Partner Profile: Yashar Bish Yashar Bish, Rugs all the Way from Afghanistan to Brighton! We are delighted to have the support of Yashar Bish, a new corporate partner of Afghanaid. Established by Kim and Mahmut in early 1990’s in the bohemian city of Brighton, Yashar Bish is a real treasure trove of gorgeous handmade rugs and kilims, colourful cushions and textiles, all sourced from Afghanistan, Turkey and Persia. Kim - having had a great passion for rugs and textiles since an early age - spent much of her youth travelling and learning all she could about rugs, learning how wool was dyed, how rugs were woven, and the unique and beautiful designs associated with different nomadic groups and villages. On her return to the UK, Kim decided to set up Yashar Bish with her husband Mahmut who has an extensive knowledge of rugs, their history and background. In Kim’s words: “we are always eager to travel to source our rugs and like to offer an extensive selection so we have something for everyone. We have been working in the field of beautiful rugs for over 25 years, every day is different, we love meeting new and old customers alike in our Brighton shop as well as serving customers through our extensive online shop”. You can find out more about Yashar Bish here. “We were so pleased to have come across Afghanaid, a charity with such a good understanding of local issues in rural Afghan communities. By supporting and promoting Afghanaid it gives us the opportunity to be able to give something back to a culture that has given us so much and to support a charity that has a great understanding of the hardships of rural Afghans." Partner Profile: The Afghan Rug Shop The Afghan Rug Shop's owner, James Wilthew (pictured), served for six months in Northern Afghanistan in 2004. While there, he bought several rugs to sell on and help pay for his wedding. 11 years on and after moving to West Yorkshire, he thought a rug shop might do well in Hebden Bridge. James sources the shop’s rugs from markets, weavers and families across the Northern Provinces. The shop has a Label STEP licence, ensuring all of their products are ethically produced. But he wanted to do more. "Partnering with Afghanaid means we are able to support the wider communities that our craftsmen and women come from. Given Afghanaid’s dedication to these communities – having worked with them for over 30 years - it took very little time to decide we had found the right charity to support. I’m really proud that The Afghan Rug Shop is supporting Afghanaid; it’s simply the right thing to do." We recently hosted a live panel event, 'Ethical Business with Artisan Suppliers', with James, taking a deep-dive into his unique experiences. Partner Profile: Untamed Borders Back in 2011, adventure travel company Untamed Borders became the first company to start running ski trips to Afghanistan. Their work since 2008 has been crucial in re-introducing tourism to Badakhshan and Bamyan provinces - some of the most remote areas of the country - for the first time in over 30 years. Untamed Borders have committed to donating a portion of all their fixed date trip sales to Afghanaid, to support our tree-planting and disaster risk reduction work in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. "When we looked for tree planting environmental protection projects to support as part of our sustainability program, it was an obvious decision to partner with Afghanaid. With over 30 years of experience in Afghanistan we knew that the money our guests provide would be used in the best possible way to contribute to long lasting change." Partner Profile: Charitable Travel Every penny of profit earned by Charitable Travel, a registered social enterprise and financially protected travel agency, supports charity fundraising and good causes. Their purpose and mission is to help people with their holiday plans whilst supporting the work that UK-based charities deliver around the world. Through offering travel expertise, a wide choice of holiday options, great value for money, and an opportunity to help those in need in the process, Charitable Travel have created a unique way to travel-for-good. They sacrifice their travel agency commission so that holiday buyers can make a free five percent donation to one of their 'Good Causes' - we are thrilled to be one of their registered charity partners. Partner Profile: Pretty Little Afghan Pretty Little Afghan is a new start-up business based in the UK, offering an array of ethically sourced, handmade, traditional Afghan clothing. US customers can also visit the site here. Wanting to make a difference to Afghan communities they have launch their “Giving Back Initiative” where a percentage from each sale will go straight towards supporting Afghanaid’s projects. Having come to the UK as a refugee in 1997 from Afghanistan, Director Naim Dinarkhail says: "Researching potential charity partners for us to be able to take our Giving Back Initiative forward with was very simple. Afghanaid provides support to vulnerable families and communities who need it the most, stand up to women's rights and improve livelihoods, all of which fall under prettylittleafghan's philosophy."