It started as a pandemic project — and it has turned into something that could fuel these tiny entrepreneurs’ futures.
Tosie is a child-run nonprofit whose members make and sell $5 bracelets to raise money for rescue dogs at local shelters. The name is a portmanteau of Teddie and Rosie, the first two dogs Jordyn and Gannon Jacobson rescued and brought home.
The children’s father, Steve Jacobson, wanted to keep his children busy last spring while they hunkered down at home during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. So he partnered with fellow Manhattan Beach parent Jody Green, gathered other children from the community and made it happen.
Jacobson, a marketing and sales CEO, and Green, a marketing executive, are teaching them how to build a business by having them create a real company.
The children, ages 8 through 12, run the company while their parents make sure things go smoothly on the backend. Tosie welcomes new recruits, Green said, whether they’re as young as 5 or in junior high school. Although efforts are currently local, Green said, children from as far as the Bay Area virtually help run the business.
“We wanted to give them the experience of, ‘This is what you need to do to have a legitimate business,’” Green said. “We want them to feel like they’re the ones making the decisions and moving it forward.”
And they are doing just that. The budding businesspeople learn to use the messaging application Slack and accounting software, how to build websites, and other important skills needed to run their company.
All proceeds go to the Carson Animal Shelter, with the nonprofit either donating cash or buying blankets, toys and treats for the dogs there, Green said.
“Helping animals is a full-time job,” Green said. “They deserve as much love and attention as kids do.”
The nonprofit held a couple of popup sales over the summer, Green said, but officially launched Sunday, May 2, in Manhattan Beach’s Metlox Plaza. They sold more than 100 bracelets on launch day, she added, earning about $700 combined with donations.
Tosie plans to collaborate and campaign with the Carson Animal Shelter, The Pug Queen rescue foundation, Pug Nation Rescue and dog-loving social media influencers.
“As we keep building brand presence,” Green said, “we want to spread awareness at local events like the (Manhattan Beach) Hometown Fair.”
